National Assembly for Wales

To propose that the Senedd: 

1. Notes that:

a) charitable hospice care providers play a vital role in providing essential care and support to people affected by terminal illness across Wales;

b) the charitable hospice sector provides care for more than 20,000 people each year with their services supporting dying people to stay in their own homes and reduce hospital admissions, delivering better outcomes for individuals and the NHS;

c) rising staff and energy costs, workforce pressures, and increasing demand for complex care pose an existential threat to the sustainability of the sector;

d) 90 percent of hospices are budgeting for a deficit in 2023/24 and drawing on reserves to meet the shortfall; and

e) demand and need for palliative care is set to grow significantly as the population ages and more people are living longer with multiple chronic conditions.

2. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) commit to working with the sector to address the immediate funding challenges, including ensuring a fair salary offer for the hospice workforce, equivalent to the Agenda for Change increases, so there is parity with NHS colleagues;

b) develop a long-term sustainable funding solution in partnership with the sector, including a new national funding formula, workforce plan, and palliative and end-of-life care service specification; and

c) extend the Welsh Government’s end-of-life care funding review, which is due to conclude in January 2024, if this is not feasible in this timescale.