The charity founded in memory of six-year-old Hugh Menai-Davis and the team behind Cambridge Children’s Hospital have agreed to work together on a pilot to help shape how families of seriously ill children are supported in the future.
On the sixth anniversary of Hugh Menai-Davis’s cancer diagnosis, the charity founded in his memory and the team behind the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital have agreed to work together on a pilot to help shape how families of seriously ill children are supported in the future, in line with the recommendations in Hugh’s Report. The two organisations have a shared commitment to providing mental health support for families facing serious illness in their children.
Hugh’s parents, Ceri and Frances Menai-Davis, said the announcement brings their campaign full circle. The new hospital site is around 200 metres from where Hugh was treated and died at Addenbrooke’s, aged six, in September 2021.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has commissioned Hugh’s Report, with the Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services (CSES) leading the study. It will examine the mental health impact of life-threatening illness on families and identify how support can be improved. The Government has committed to publishing Hugh’s Report during this Parliament and to respond to the recommendations within 3 months of publication.
Ceri said: “When Hugh was diagnosed, the hospital had a plan for his treatment. But, for us, like hundreds of families at other hospitals around the country, there was no equivalent plan to help us cope as parents, to protect our family financially, or to recognise what his illness meant for his brothers and sisters. When I walked out of the hospital after Hugh died, I promised that we would fight to change that. To know that a new children’s hospital just 200 metres from where he died will pilot recommendations from a report bearing his name is incredibly moving."
Every family deserves a support plan from the moment their child becomes seriously ill. We will work with the Cambridge Children’s Hospital team to help show what that could look like, so that one day families across the NHS receive the support we needed. We cannot change what happened to Hugh, but we can change what happens next.
Ceri Menai-Davis, Hugh’s father, and co-founder of the charity It’s Never You.
In October, Ceri met with key members of the Cambridge Children's project team to learn more about the plans to bring physical and mental healthcare together, with research, transforming care for children and families across the region. They explained how the ambition is for Cambridge Children’s Hospital to set a national precedent, placing support for the whole family at the top of its priorities.
We were excited to learn more about how Hugh’s Report aligns with our vision for Cambridge Children’s Hospital, recognising and supporting the needs of the whole family alongside the care of the child. We fully endorse the principles of Hugh’s Report and are committed to embedding the recommendations into our clinical model of care. We are looking forward to working closely with Ceri and Frances on this.
Dr Rob Heushckel, Clinical Director for Cambridge Children’s Hospital
Hugh was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer, in October 2020. It’s Never You wants parents, carers and siblings to have their mental health needs recognised and to know where to turn for help. Their campaign, inspired by Hugh, has also helped secure a government consultation on Hugh’s Law, which calls for paid, protected leave for parents of seriously ill children.
The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has previously shared her support for Hugh’s Law and the Cambridge Children’s Hospital project. She said: “Families facing serious childhood illness should never have to navigate this immensely challenging time alone. Every family deserves clear, coordinated support from the outset to care for their child, protect their family’s wellbeing and spend precious time together. I want to see families guided through financial pressures, complex systems and periods of immense pain, grief and isolation."
It is vital that the needs of parents, siblings and the whole family are considered as key to children’s healthcare. This pilot with Cambridge Children’s Hospital is such a promising step forward and I hope Hugh’s legacy is taken on by the wider system to drive change for children and families.
Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England
The pilot with Cambridge Children’s Hospital, which submits its Full Business Case to Government in the Spring and expects to start construction later in 2027, will provide an opportunity to put the Hugh's Report recommendations into practice. It's Never You charity’s ambition is for the learning to help improve support for families beyond Cambridge, creating a lasting legacy for Hugh.