Responding to the announcement that hospices are to share £6.3m in funding, Shadow Minister for Health, Angela Burns AM, said:
“Hospices put a high value on dignity and respect of the person who is ill, and given that we’re in the midst of a pandemic they’re more important than ever.
“Hospices are working extremely hard to support communities through this difficult time, but for them to continue to deliver first-class services, more money is needed to be pumped into the sector.
“The Welsh Government has announced hospices are to share £6.3m in funding, Although this is beneficial, as the Welsh Conservatives have urged, we feel the sum needs to be upped to £10 million. If our call is answered then many gaps in the sector will be filled.”
Mark Isherwood AM – who Chairs the Cross Party Group on Hospices and Palliative Care – added:
“Whilst I welcome the fact that Hospices in Wales will now receive their share of the funding announced by the UK Chancellor on 8th April, equivalent to the sums received by hospices in England, the Welsh Government must go further.
“Our Hospices are doing their utmost to support communities through this pandemic, but, even before this, Hospices in Wales were suffering from a lack of statutory Welsh Government funding, resulting in financial pressures which restricted their ability to provide services and in unmet need.
“Government funding for hospices as a percentage of expenditure is lower in Wales than other UK nations, has not changed for a decade and has therefore been dropping in real terms.
“I therefore reiterate Angela Burns’ call for this additional funding to be increased to £10 million.”
ENDS