Hospices will receive additional funding to help them continue to provide vital palliative and end-of-life care.
The £5.5m cash injection, which is in addition to the £3m uplift in recurrent funding announced in the 2025-26 budget, will help Wales’ 12 NHS-commissioned hospices, which include the two children’s hospices, meet financial pressures and ensure staff receive a fair salary.
Welsh hospices play a vital role in supporting patients, families and carers at the end of their lives, and are committed to ensuring that everyone can continue to receive dignified and personalised hospice support, outside of hospital
Wales’ 12 NHS-commissioned hospices will receive a share of the £5.5m funding.
The hospices are: Hope House; Ty Hafan; City Hospice; Hospice of the Valleys; St David’s Hospice Care; St David’s Hospice; St Michael’s Hospice; Paul Sartori Hospice at Home; Marie Curie; Nightingale House Hospice; Severn Hospice and St Kentigern Hospice.
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said: “Hospices play a vital role in supporting families at some of the most difficult times.
“We are committed to strengthening and improving palliative and end-of-life care to ensure everyone who needs hospice support receives dignified and personalised support outside of hospital.”
Liz Booyse, chair of Hospices Cymru, said:
“We welcome the Welsh Government’s commitment of funding. It is a testament to the importance of the hospice sector within our healthcare system, and we are immensely grateful. Our services provide vital care and support to over 20,000 children and adults affected by terminal illnesses each year.
“This funding is a significant step forward, and we will continue our efforts to work in partnership with the Welsh Government to achieve a sustainable funding settlement that will bring greater stability to the Welsh hospice sector.”
Matthew Brindley, policy and advocacy manager for Wales at Hospice UK said:
“Recent years have been very tough for Wales’s hospices, amid a combination of rapidly rising costs and ever-growing need for end-of-life care.
“We’re grateful to the Welsh Government for recognising both the pressure hospices are under, but also the immense value they bring to Wales’ health and social care system.
“It’s vital we continue to work together toward a more sustainable approach to how we fund hospice care in Wales. Our population is ageing, with people’s health becoming more complex to manage. We need a strong, robust palliative and end-of-life care system and hospices in Wales are ready to play their part.
