Young Persons Family Fund: terms and conditions

4. Principles

The following principles will be applied when reimbursing expenses claims.

a) The Young Patients Family Fund is designed to provide a contribution towards the cost of visiting a young inpatient receiving inpatient care in hospital and may not always meet the full cost of all travel, subsistence and/or accommodation during this time.

b) Parents/parent substitutes and siblings under the age of 18 of the young inpatient may make a claim under the fund.

c) Inpatient care refers to a child or young person up to age 18 who is admitted to an available staffed bed in a hospital (either electively or as an emergency) and either: remain overnight whatever the original intention; or are expected to remain overnight but are discharged earlier.

d) Claims can be submitted incrementally during an on-going hospital stay (e.g. weekly) or in full for the entire stay, following discharge from the ward where the child or young person is receiving on-going treatment.

e) Claimants are expected to use the most cost effective, reasonable means of transport, taking into account the overall cost of the trip.

f) Final judgement as to the most reasonable mode of travel rests with the NHS Board within which the child inpatient is receiving care. It is the claimant's responsibility to check in advance of travel if they are in any doubt.

g) NHS Boards reserve the right to pre-book travel, accommodation or provide advances or meal tokens to eligible visitors. In such a case, eligible visitors would not be able to claim for additional subsistence or separately booked travel and/or accommodation.

h) Only actual expenditure should be claimed. Claiming expenses that have not been incurred is fraud, and action will be taken against anyone submitting fraudulent claims.

i) Evidence in the form of receipts showing itemised expenditure should be kept and produced for all public transport, accommodation and parking. Receipts are not required for subsistence claims.