5 July 2011
The Palliative Funding Review, which started in July 2010 to look into the state funding of hospice and palliative care services in England, has published its final report.
Chaired by the Chief Executive of Marie Curie, Tom Hughes-Hallett, the review has tried to describe which palliative care services should be state funded and which could continue to be funded by charities.
Mike Keel, Chief Executive of Keech Hospice Care said: 'Because state funding of hospice and palliative care services in England has been so poor and unfairly distributed across the country, Keech Hospice Care has always known that to expect the state to go from this low level of funding to full funding would be a “pipe dream”. The question on our lips has always been how bold would this review be about its recommendations for state funding? Especially with the state of the economy and the funding of health and social cares services that are under pressure already.'
He continues: 'An initial read of the final report looks promising. Attempts have been made to describe what the state should be responsible for and how it should be funded. The split between state and charity seems reasonable on first impressions. This is all fine but we need to turn rhetoric into action.'
'Our concern is whether the government will deliver on its promise to improve hospice and palliative care and see this through to its recommended conclusion. And, if they do, how they will protect charities like hospices during the transition from the current funding systems (such as it is) to the new system in a few years time. Keech Hospice Care would be in dire straits if the PCTs withdrew their funding from us before the new system was in place.'
'Today has seen the publication of the Dilnott Commission recommendations. This commission looked into how the social care system should be overhauled to allow it to cope with our ageing population. More and more people are living longer with complex conditions, increasing the demand on hospice and palliative care services. Yet few hospices receive any funding from local councils to support the social care services which are so integral to the delivery of high quality palliative care.
It is interesting that both reports emphasise the importance of partnership working between health and social care services, across both the voluntary and statutory sectors – something we at Keech Hospice Care have known for a long time.'
Tell us what you think by emailing our Chief Executive, Mike Keel, at mkeel@keech.org.uk and if you happen to bump into your MP then please tell them what you think too!
