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Evora Hospice has welcomed a landmark Assembly report calling for major reform of palliative and end-of-life care, including support for a new hospice building and a significant increase in funding.
The Committee for Health published its Access to Palliative Care Services report on 2 December setting out 27 recommendations that include backing for Evora Hospice, formerly Southern Area Hospice Services, to move to a new site. The report also calls for an immediate increase in funding to 50 percent of the actual cost of care, rising to 100 percent within five years.
Figures from Hospice UK show that in 2024-25 hospices in Northern Ireland provided palliative and end-of-life care to 12,000 people and direct support services to 1,700 family members, friends and carers. This included almost 80,000 visits made to patients at home by specialist palliative care nurses and doctors as well as generalist healthcare staff, some 14,000 outpatient appointments, and 19,000 days and nights of in-patient care.
Liz Cuddy, Chief Executive of Evora Hospice, said: "I want to thank the committee and stakeholders who contributed to this landmark inquiry. This report has set out with great clarity just how important hospice care is to the community and the health and social care system in Northern Ireland. Yet it also highlights the immense effort palliative care providers go to in the face of significant funding challenges."
Ms Cuddy said she was pleased to see the recommendation that the department assist in the delivery of the hospice's vision for a new building. She added: "We are in no doubt it will take a huge collective effort from the department, community and our stakeholders to deliver on the recommendations set out in the inquiry but it is essential that this is done and we look forward to working closely with the minister to secure a sustainable funding model and the provision of services to patients and families when they need it most."
Evora Hospice says the increase in funding to 50 percent of actual costs, rising to 100 percent within five years, is an essential step toward safeguarding hospice services for patients with complex needs. The hospice has now called upon the Minister for Health and policymakers to act now to deliver reform to address disparities and ensure equitable access to palliative care so that no one is left behind.
