Welsh Government
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Funding allocated for hospice care
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 Ilora Finlay, a consultant in palliative care.
The group aims to provide a fairer funding system for hospices.
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.
Edwina Hart said:
“For people with progressive and life threatening conditions, good quality palliative care services are vital. I wish to ensure that the level of care provided, at what is a very distressing time, is the very best possible and people have access to services consistently across Wales.”
Baroness Finlay added:
"The Government's support for palliative care services in Wales is crucial for the further development of high-quality services across the whole of Wales. This ensures that patients and family needs can be met and the quality life improved even as the end approaches.
“It is vital that we move to a change of work patterns in order to put the patient at the centre of their care. Most patients’ care is delivered by GPs, nurses and hospital teams, but they need to be able to have the back-up and support of excellent specialist services wherever the patient is in Wales.”
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