Welsh Government
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Health Minister approves £3m funding for new Newport hospice
The Welsh Government is to invest £3m in expanding the in-patient hospice service for terminally ill patients and their families in Newport, Health and Social Services, Mark Drakeford has announced.
The Welsh Government will provide £3m towards the cost of a £5m 15 bed specialist in-patient hospice, which will be built next to the main hospice building at Blackett Avenue in Newport.
It will be run by the St. David’s Hospice Care (SDHC), working in partnership with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and Newport City Council.
The new 15 bed unit will replace a smaller 10 bed unit at St. Anne’s Hospice, which opened in 1979. The existing unit cares for over 3,000 patients and their families each year. The hospice cares for patients with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses, such motor neurone disease and end-stage heart failure.
The existing building (St. Anne’s) is leased by St. David’s Hospice Care until 2018 when the lease expires.
The service covers a population of over 600,000 people from Newport, Caerphilly, Torfaen, Monmouthshire and Mid & South Powys.
Mark Drakeford said:
“The model of palliative care which has been developed by St. David’s Hospice Care is recognised as a good example of how to deliver first class hospice care.
“I’m delighted to be able to make this funding available to ensure St David’s Hospice Care can deliver the additional palliative care services that are increasingly in demand in South East Wales.
“The new hospice will deliver significant benefits to patients and their families through the replacement and improvement of facilities.”
Emma Saysell, Chief Executive of St. David’s Hospice Care said:
“St David’s Hospice Care is absolutely delighted to receive the news of the £3m funding support from the Welsh Government. The new Hospice will offer state-of-the-art patient and family led services and ensure people can access the best possible palliative and end of life care, irrespective of their diagnosis.
“We would like to sincerely thank the Minister and the Welsh Government for investing in this vital care and would also like to thank Newport City Council for providing the land and Aneurin Bevan Health Board for their tremendous support. St David’s Hospice Care has worked with local community and volunteers for many years and we are indebted to them for their continued support and we look forward to working with them to realise this amazing opportunity for hospice care”
Judith Paget, Chief Executive of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said:
“We welcome this funding for a new hospice which will provide specialist end of life care for patients and their families from across our whole Health Board area.
“We look forward to continuing our working partnership with St. David’s Hospice Care and Newport City Council and will ensure patients continue to receive the highest quality palliative care that we can provide.”
