Speaking at Hospice UK’s ‘Hospice Care Week’ Senedd event today, North Wales Assembly Member and Chair of the Assembly Cross Party Group on Hospices and Palliative Care, Mark Isherwood AM, expressed concern that both children and adult hospices in Wales receive less funding than in other UK nations and called for effective collaboration between the NHS and voluntary sector “to radically improve access to hospice and palliative care for everyone across Wales”.
Hospice Care Week 2019 is being held from the 7-13 October 2019, with the theme ‘This Is What It Takes’ to provide hospice care.
Speaking at today’s event, which he sponsored, Mr Isherwood stressed that last year in Wales, 16 charitable hospices provided direct care to over 11,500 people and their families, whilst reaching thousands more through their community engagement and development. He emphasised that 8,600 adults were seen by community care and hospice at home; 800 children were helped directly by charitable hospice care; there were 57,700 home visits by community care and hospice at home; and 2,300 families received bereavement care through hospices.
Despite all this support they provide however, Mr Isherwood said they are not receiving the financial support they need and deserve.
He said: “Wales’ hospices had a combined revenue of £36 million in 2018, and fundraised around £28 million.
“Statutory funding has flatlined for many years, with children’s hospices telling me that although they operate on a “buy one, get seven or eight free” basis, they’ve had flatline statutory funding for ten years.
“Government funding of children’s hospices in Wales as a percentage of its charitable expenditure is lower than in England and Scotland.
“In Wales, children’s hospices received 12% of their expenditure from government funding last year, compared with 21% in England and 53% in Scotland.
“The UK Government is doubling children’s hospice funding to £25 million annually by 2023/24 and the Scottish government is providing £30 million over five years to support children’s hospices there.
“Government funding for adults’ hospices as a percentage of expenditure is lower in Wales than any other UK nation.
“In Wales, adults’ hospices received 28% of Government funding as a percentage of their expenditure in 2017, compared with 33% in England, 34% in Northern Ireland and 38% in Scotland.”
He added: “Last year, the Cross Party Group published its Inquiry into Inequalities in Access to Hospice and Palliative Care.
“It estimated that around 6,000 people with life-limiting conditions may be missing out on care provisions that they might need – and said a shortage of medical staff meant people can miss out on care at home or in the community.
“The report said those with dementia, heart failure and neurological conditions in particular faced a range of barriers to appropriate care, and are less likely to be referred than cancer sufferers - when they should be entitled to care at home, in hospices and care homes as well as hospitals.
“The report said people who are aged over 85 or live in a care home can struggle to get the right support - something the former Older People's Commissioner for Wales previously highlighted.
“And the Funding Formula should be based on current population need.
“The traditional view of a hospice as an inpatient unit where someone might go for the last few weeks of their life is too narrow, when over 80% of hospice services in Wales are actually delivered out in the community or in people's homes.
“Effective collaboration between the NHS and voluntary sector is essential if we are to radically improve access to hospice and palliative care for everyone across Wales – with Health Boards asking Hospices how they can help them deliver more.”
