Ahead of the final Welsh Government Budget, North Wales MS Mark Isherwood, who Chairs the Cross-Party Group on Hospice and Palliative Care, has again highlighted the financial pressures facing third sector health and care service providers, including Hospices, and called on the Welsh Government to support them.
Speaking in this afternoon’s Business Statement in the Senedd, Mr Isherwood called for an urgent Welsh Government Statement in response to calls from third sector health and care service providers for more funding.
He said:
“I call for an urgent Statement, at this eleventh hour before the final Welsh Government Budget, on support for third sector providers of key health and care services.
“As I have repeatedly warned, the Welsh Government's failure to support the increased costs imposed on them will cause further contraction in these services and far higher costs for under-pressure statutory NHS and Social Care providers in consequence.
“Last week, a support worker for Mencap Cymru in North Wales wrote to North Wales Members, stating, 'We need to see a firm commitment made clear before the final Budget in January to show that the work we do as support workers is valued and we are paid fairly for the incredible jobs we do’.
“Similarly, Hospices in Wales, already facing cuts, have stated that £3 million does not constitute the ‘sustainable funding settlement’ promised by the Welsh Government.
“Last week, the UK Minister for Care announced the addition of a further £25 million to the £100 million capital funding available for adults' and children's Hospices in England this financial year, on top of revenue funding, including an additional £80 million for Children's Hospices over three years, dwarfing the Welsh Government's Hospice funding here in Wales, where healthcare is being shifted out of the community into hospitals, in direct contradiction of stated Welsh Government policy.
“I therefore call for a very urgent Welsh Government Statement, before it's too late, accordingly.”
Responding, the Trefnydd (Business Manager) Jane Hutt MS said:
“Of course this is something that is our responsibility, and a responsibility that has been taken very seriously. In fact, the First Minister responded to it through questions earlier on today, in terms of our commitment to those services that you have identified in terms of direct funding to organisations, but also to the services that are provided by local authorities and the wider third sector.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Isherwood said:
“As I have warned time and time again, unless the Welsh Government provides the package of support third sector health providers need, it will cost more in the long run and deliver worse outcomes, with the most vulnerable paying the price.”
