Following this week’s announced temporary closure of St David’s Hospice’s in-patient beds in Holyhead, North Wales MS and Chair of the Senedd Cross-Party Group on Hospice and Palliative Care, Mark Isherwood, has warned that other Hospices are also struggling financially and could follow suit unless action is taken.
It was announced on Monday that the four in-patient beds at the St. David’s Hospice’s Holyhead hospice will close temporarily from October 2025.
The closure was raised in yesterday’s Topical Questions in the Senedd, prompting Mr Isherwood to highlight the financial difficulties Hospices throughout Wales are facing, and their need for support to deliver more.
He said:
“Last Friday, before the public announcement, St David's contacted me as Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Hospice and Palliative Care confidentially, as it was then:
'I am writing to you to share a key statement. With heavy heart, we are forced to pause operations at our four-bed in-patient hospice in Holyhead and we will be entering into a consultation process with the affected staff on Monday morning. As a charity, it has become increasingly challenging to continue running all of our services due to rising costs and reduced income, and this comes after making huge cost reductions over recent years and finding efficiencies where possible’.
“And on they go. But they also said the Welsh Government were aware of the proposed statement, so you were pre-notified.
“Hospice UK and Hospices Cymru have again pointed out to me the attitudinal and financial survey that Hospice UK conducted between August and November 2024 with 15 charitable hospices in Wales. I won't give you all the findings, but 14 out of 15 agreed that cost-of-living pressures are highly likely to result in them having to reduce the volume of services delivered.
“Over 90 per cent agreed that cost-of-living pressures were highly likely to result in reduced support being available to the wider system, such as hospitals and care homes. Nearly three quarters of those with in-patient units agreed that cost-of-living pressures are highly likely to result in one or more patient beds being temporarily or permanently unavailable.
“These points were made at the time of the Draft Budget and the Budget, and although the £5.5 million at the end of last year and the £3 million this year were welcomed, they didn't even begin to cover the additional costs following the (UK Chancellor’s) Autumn Statement.
“How, after more than two decades of asking questions like this, if ever, will the Welsh Government finally embrace the offer from the sector to help each Health Board deliver more, and particularly Betsi Cadwaladr, to engage closely with these Hospices and facilitate improved services for the families, for the individuals, and for the NHS in the way that can be achieved, and was being achieved, in this operation, which was, of course, in an NHS ward, lent to, effectively, St David's by Betsi Cadwaladr?”
In his response, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles, said:
“In relation to the points the Member made about ensuring a consistency of service and a resilient model for hospice services into the future, I do accept that a different approach is indeed required, and we have been having very good discussions with the sector in relation to what that might look like. It is our intention to have in place by April of next year a new commissioning framework for hospice services.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Isherwood added:
“As St. David’s Hospice also told me, ‘In the absence of a commissioning framework and service specification, we are now entering an unsustainable position which puts the whole charity at risk’.
“This is incredibly worrying, and it is vital the Welsh Government act quickly before it is too late.”