Strategic Review to Answer North Wales Hospice Funding Crisis - Burnham

5.08.00pm GMT Tue 12th Dec 2006

Eleanor Burnham AM has today spoken up in support of a review to tackle the funding crisis in Wales' hospices. The Welsh Liberal Democrats successfully pushed for a review because they believe it is essential to secure desperately needed ongoing funding for voluntary hospices across Wales.

Ms Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales, joined her fellow party members in condemning the lack of support for hospices in Wales, which receive drastically less government funding than similar institutions across the border in England and Scotland.

Ms Burnham said: "This funding issue is basically a question of efficiency. Hospices services often bridge the yawning gap left by an overstretched NHS, by ensuring the provision of these services is in the right places we will also help to ease the pressure on our hospitals.

"The Hospice Review will help put things in the right place so that patients get the most effective and appropriate services. I am sure all politicians would agree that this is particularly important to palliative hospice care considering the specialist needs of our constituents who rely on it."

The Assembly government had put down an amendment to the motion, claiming such a review is already happening.

Ms Burnham said: "The Health Committee review will be cross-party, held in public and take a long-term strategic view of palliative care in Wales.

"It will not just look at how to allocate the £2m the government conceded in this year's budget, but what is the correct level of on-going funding for future years.

"The sad fact that undermines all the funding problems we are seeing for hospices and indeed throughout many Welsh public services, is a lack of pressure on the UK government to give Wales the overall funding we need.

"When you consider that millions is still being spent by the UK government everyday to carry on fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the funding needs of our hospices are tiny.

"When this year's budget negotiations are over, I hope it will not be forgotten that we owe it to our constituents throughout the country to press the UK government for a fairer settlement for Wales."

Notes:

The Welsh Liberal Democrats today tabled the following motion in Plenary:

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

Calls for an All-Wales review of the commissioning by LHBs of hospice and palliative care services, examining levels of funding, provision and any other related issues. This review should take into account the findings of the Health and Social Services Committee's review of cancer services for people in Wales. The terms of reference for the review are to be agreed by the Health and Social Services Committee.

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