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A £6.75 million fund for local hospices announced today by Finance Minister, Conor Murphy includes £1.1M for the Southern Area Hospice.
The financing is part of Covid-19 measures to support the hospices with the current financial challenges they are facing.
Welcoming the funding Liz Cuddy, CEO of Southern Area Hospice said “Staff in all of the local Hospices have been working tirelessly during this crisis to continue to provide their excellent care for our patients and families across Northern Ireland. We welcome this announcement as recognition by the Executive of the vital support we provide to the Health Service.”
Making the announcement, Conor Murphy said: “The care and support our hospices provide is truly inspiring. Our Hospices are there for people and their families when they need it most.
“This £6.75 million support package will help them with the current challenges they are facing from loss of donations and revenue from their retail outlets.This funding will make a real difference to these organisations and the families they support.”
The Funding
£3.2 million for the NI Hospice including the Children’s Hospice;
£1.6 million for Marie Curie;
£1.1 million for Southern Area Hospice;
£600,000 for Foyle Hospice; and
£250,000 for Cancer Fund for Children.
On behalf of the Hospice Alliance NI, Heather Weir, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Hospice and Children’s Hospice, said:
“We are relieved that the Executive are providing this additional funding for Hospices. This is especially needed at this challenging time as our services are in great demand and our staff continue to provide 24/7 care for local people in our Hospices and across communities. Having learned that the £200m announced by the Chancellor was not for Hospices in the devolved nations, we are thankful that the NI Executive quickly sought to clarify the position of local Hospices in Northern Ireland.”
Continuing she said, “The pandemic has highlighted the vital role Hospices play in the delivery of specialist palliative care, promoting comfort and support to patients and families at a very difficult time in life. We would urge the Northern Ireland Executive to consider a sustained level of funding for Hospices. This would allow us to focus on the delivery of our much-needed services and remove the constant threat of lack of funding.”
Welcomed
Newry and Armagh MP Mickey Brady has welcomed the announcement of almost £7,000,000 to help Hospices during the COVID19 crisis saying “Hospices and their staff are an invaluable asset to our society. The staff provide high quality and compassionate care to those that are in need, and in particular those that are seriously ill.
Many Hospices rely on fundraising that is carried out by remarkable volunteers and community organisations who work tirelessly throughout the year. Today’s announcement is welcome news”.
Newry City Councillor Roisin Mulgrew who recently initiated a successful ‘Step Up for Charity’ fund raising effort to raise funds for the local Hospice said,“Due to the ongoing public health emergency, the capacity to fundraise by many Hospices has been severely limited and has caused significant financial stress and concern.
"I believe that this financial injection will go some way in alleviating many of their financial concerns and I thank the Minister for that”.
Concluding Cllr Mulgrew said “From the bottom of my heart – I want to thank the staff at hospices and all those that are involved in fundraising efforts. You are all truly fantastic people, keep up the fantastic work."
