Parents of critically ill children ‘crushed’ by lack of support, say campaigners

Ceri and Frances Menai-Davis, whose son Hugh died from a rare form of cancer, want parents to get statutory support. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Parents of critically ill children are being “crushed” by a lack of statutory financial support when they need to take time off work, the parents of a six-year-old boy who died of cancer have said.

Hugh Menai-Davis was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease when he fell ill suddenly in October 2020. The boy, then aged five, had been happy and healthy before he developed severe stomach pains.