The report establishes a fairer funding system
for hospices in Wales
The report was produced by the Palliative Care Implementation Group, which is chaired by Baroness Finlay, the former Medical Director of the Marie Curie Hospice, Penarth.
The report establishes a fairer funding system for hospices, based on a definition of a core palliative care service which providers will have to meet in order to secure future funding.
Services will be required to be led by consultants, with support from multidisciplinary teams including specialist palliative care nurses and other health professionals.
Improved standards of out-of-hours care will have to be met and a new patient registration card and single contact point will be explored to improve the support to patients and their families.
The health regulatory bodies in Wales will also have a greater role in regulating providers. To date, not all voluntary sector hospices have been regulated through registration.
The group recommends allocating just over half of the £1 million funding announced in July to take forward work on an all-Wales basis, including developing a single contact point for patients, a patient registration system, staff training and the development of a clinical record system.
The report also recommends transitional funding allocations for voluntary sector hospices from the £2 million funding from the Welsh Assembly Government.
All voluntary providers will have to meet service level agreements in order to receive the current year’s funding and a slice of that which the Health Minister announced in July for future years.
Baroness Finlay said: “Patients should have excellent care at the end of life wherever they are – whether it be at home, or in a hospice or nursing home.
“There was recognition by the vast majority of service providers that there is a need to improve the quality of services and that change would benefit patients.”
Edwina Hart said: “For people with progressive and life-threatening conditions good quality palliative care services are vital. I want to ensure that the level of care provided, at what is a very distressing time, is the very best possible.
“I am enormously grateful to Baroness Finlay and the other members of the group for their hard work in producing this report.”
October 2008
