A Plaid Cymru Senedd Member has made an impassioned plea on behalf of hospices throughout Wales, saying that funding pressures are leaving the model in grave danger.
Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru MS for North Wales, made his comments in the Senedd chamber after a visit to St Kentigern hospice in St Asaph.
He told the Senedd: "I had the privilege of visiting the St Kentigern hospice in my region before Christmas. It serves areas in Denbighshire, Flintshire and Conwy and that visit truly did highlight, beyond any doubt in my mind, the significant difference that such hospices make to the lives of so many people. It was so worrying to hear staff saying quite clearly during that visit that the model of hospice provision, to all intents and purposes, is broken.
"That isn't something new to many people who are familiar with the hospice provision here in Wales, but, as we know, they have had to work so very hard over a number of years just to survive. But now, of course, more recently, with the increasing significant cost pressures that they face, along with the ongoing battle to fundraise—to do that now in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis leaves the sector in an extremely difficult position.
"And let's be clear, hospices are essential, as we've heard, to our wider health service. They take the pressure off our NHS in so many ways, and I'm sure if you were to ask the health boards themselves to describe the importance of the hospice sector, then they would leave us in no doubt about what they contribute.
"Statistics don't always tell us the human story, do they, but they clearly do tell a story. We know that more than 35,000 people die every year in Wales, and up to 90 per cent of those could actually benefit from palliative care that hospices excel at providing; 20,000 children and adults are supported by hospices each year; 800 clinical care staff are employed by hospice care organisations. Now, imagine if those services weren't available. That's one way of underlining how important they are. Imagine that they weren't there, and the additional pressures that their disappearance, effectively, would place on our hospitals, on our GP practices and other associated services, and that's why it's hugely concerning that a third of them, according to Hospices Cymru, have had to reduce services.
"Three-quarters of costs are staff and wages, and the UK Government's National Insurance hike last year has left St Kentigern, for example, with an additional £65,000 bill, with no support to claw that back. That's a huge concern. Well, that's the reality, and those are the consequences of political decisions. They've had to rely on the community to raise funds; just 30 per cent of their funding comes from Government. And I personally have been involved with Tŷ Gobaith-Hope House as well, volunteering and raising funds on a few occasions."
He added: "St Kentigern, specifically, have 10 shops, and they rely on 300 volunteers to support the fundraising work that they do. It really defies logic that a service of such importance effectively relies on coffee mornings and raffles. We know that goodwill doesn't pay the bills.
"But we also know that St Kentigern isn't just a hospice, it's a hub. The cafe that they run there is a key hub for the wider community. There are also outreach visits to patients, to enable them to stay in their home rather than to become hospitalised. There are so many intangible impacts that these community-based organisations make to thousands of people's lives on a daily basis.
"The ask from the hospices is that they have that sustainable funding scheme, and I mentioned the ongoing cost-of-living crisis is having a real impact on their income streams. I have real concerns that some of these vital services, and they are vital, aren't they, they're not nice to have. The danger is that they will diminish and eventually disappear. Our NHS is already under huge strain and hospices are key to easing that burden.
"We have one in five hospital beds occupied by people in their last 12 months of life. We have seven in 10 paediatric intensive care bed days occupied by a child with a life-limiting condition. Of the £610 million spent on healthcare for people in Wales in their last year of life, over £500 million of that was spent on hospital care. So, as we aim to move to a more preventative system of health and social care to stop people falling ill in the first place, we know that hospice services will always be needed.
"The least we can do is to give them the help that they need to be able to do that."
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