The Welsh Government has pledged an additional £5.5m for hospices in Wales to help the organisations meet “financial pressures”.
The country’s 12 NHS-commissioned hospices, including two children’s hospices, will receive the one-off pot of money on top of a £3m uplift in recurrent funding for the sector in the country’s 2025-26 budget, the government said.
“It’s vital we continue to work together toward a more sustainable approach to how we fund hospice care in Wales”
Matthew Brindley
The money is intended to ensure staff receive fair pay and to help address significant financial challenges resulting from increases in demand, wage rises, utility costs and other pressures facing the sector.
Matthew Brindley, policy and advocacy manager for Wales at Hospice UK, said: “Recent years have been very tough for Wales’s hospices, amid a combination of rapidly rising costs and ever-growing need for end-of-life care.
“We’re grateful to the Welsh Government for recognising both the pressure hospices are under, but also the immense value they bring to Wales’ health and social care system.”
Mr Brindley’s organisation has, across the last year, been raising the alarm about the financial challenges facing hospice care.
Funding deficits have seen some hospices in the UK make cuts, including to nursing, and leaders have been lobbying governments to step in.
Mr Brindley added: “It’s vital we continue to work together toward a more sustainable approach to how we fund hospice care in Wales.
“Our population is ageing, with people’s health becoming more complex to manage.
“We need a strong, robust palliative and end-of-life care system and hospices in Wales are ready to play their part.”
Jeremy Miles, cabinet secretary for health and social care for the Welsh Government, said the government was “committed to strengthening and improving palliative and end of life care”.
Hospices Cymru chair Liz Booyse also welcomed news of the cash injection.
“It is a testament to the importance of the hospice sector within our healthcare system, and we are immensely grateful,” she said.
“Our services provide vital care and support to over 20,000 children and adults affected by terminal illnesses each year.”
Ms Booyse described the money as a “significant step forward”, but added: “We will continue our efforts to work in partnership with the Welsh Government to achieve a sustainable funding settlement that will bring greater stability to the Welsh hospice sector.”
