There’s no place like home: ‘hospice at home’ services to be expanded throughout Wales

Hospice services provided to people in their own homes will be expanded throughout Wales, as part of a move to improve end of life provision across the country, Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething said today.

Hospice at home services deliver high quality palliative and end of life care in Wales by providing services traditionally found in a hospice or hospital to people in or close to their own homes.

This year, the Welsh Government will be investing £455,000 to expand the scheme, while £910,000 funding has been earmarked for 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Welsh services providers offer a range of holistic support for patients, their families and carers suffering from an advanced life threatening illness, for example;

• Assistance and advice with symptom management
• Psychological and spiritual support for those suffering or affected by an advanced life threatening illness
• Assistance and advice in obtaining grants/benefits and other social support
• Bereavement support.

Today, the Deputy Minister visited Gwynedd and Anglesey Hospice At Home in Bangor, a local community-focused charity caring for patients with cancer and other life limiting illnesses.

Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething said:

“We want to focus on delivering high quality end of life care based on the individual’s needs and not over-medicalising care which can compromise quality of remaining life.

“Wales is the only country in the UK to provide 24/7 advice to professionals caring for individuals at the end of their lives. Our second annual report about palliative care in Wales, published last month, showed excellent feedback from patients and their loved ones about how services are making a difference to people’s quality of life in their final days.

“In partnership with organisations such as Gwynedd and Anglesey Hospice at Home, we remain committed to providing high quality care wherever patients live and choose to die, whatever their underlying disease or disability.”