§ Baroness Jeger asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ What contributions are made from the National Health Service to hospices; and what proportion this represents of the total cost of the hospice movement, including specialised staff training courses in palliative treatment. [HL4196]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathThe running costs of hospices are currently £215 million. Of this, £65 million is provided by the National Health Service to voluntary hospices. This equates to 30 per cent of the total running costs of voluntary hospices. In addition, the NHS provides a further £34 million for NHS hospice running costs. The Government are committed to providing an additional £50 million for hospices by 2004, as announced in the NHS Cancer Plan published on 27 September. This will bring the total NHS spend on hospices up to £150 million, which will be equal to the amount provided by the voluntary sector. The £50 million investment will be used to end inequalities in access to specialist palliative care and enable the NHS to make a more realistic contribution to the cost hospices incur in providing agreed levels of service.
In order to ensure that the additional funding is allocated effectively and equitably, we will work with hospices and the NHS to define the core components of palliative care services.
We do not have information on the amount spent on specialised staff training courses in palliative care. However, most hospices do offer educational programmes and a national charity, Help the Hospices, plays a role in funding and organising training for all professions involved in palliative care.