Joyce Watson AM welcomed the allocation of £4 million Assembly Government funding for hospices and palliative care services across Wales.
These include Beacon of Hope (Aberystwyth/ Cardigan) - £61,000; Shalom House Trust - £59,000; Paul Sartori Foundation (Pembs) - £40,000; Ty Bryngwyn (Llanelli) - £38,000; Severn Hospice (Newtown) - £39,500; Usk House (Brecon) - £5,000.
Just over half of the total, £2.1 million, will help fund the clinical palliative and end-of-life care services provided by 18 hospices throughout Wales and £1.9 million will be spent on NHS palliative care services. The allocations for independent and NHS care services are based on recommendations of an expert group headed by Baroness Finlay, who a consultant in palliative care. This group aims to provide a fairer funding system for hospices.
Joyce Watson AM said: “Hospices and palliative care services make a huge difference at a time when families are at their most vulnerable, so I welcome our Welsh Labour-led Assembly government’s investment in local services.”
Part of the funding will be dedicated to the expansion of the Cancer Network Information System Cymru, a computerised clinical record to enable health professionals quick access key information to monitor and care for patients. One of the other key areas in development is out-of-hours services and the aim to make seven-day-a-week care more widely available and fairly distributed across Wales.
Extra support will be made available to patients at home as part of a managed clinical network. Work is ongoing to ensure services are consultant-led, with support from multidisciplinary teams including specialist palliative care nurses and other health professionals, with consultants on NHS contracts.
To find out more about Joyce’s work click on http://www.joycewatson.co.uk/.
