Minister limits hospice funds

THE Government's decision to limit the availability of funds to help hospices meet the nurses' pay award means that institutions such as St Gemma's in Leeds may have to close down more beds.
The Department of Health has decided that only the minority of hospices that have contractual arrangements with their local health authorities will be allocated cash from a £4.5 million Government fund to help in meeting the pay award.
"This will affect hospices such as St Gemma's particularly badly," said Paul Rossi, Secretary to Help the Hospices. "As it is they only get a five per cent grant from their health authority and are struggling. This figure will remain static due to St Gemma's non-contractual status."
The Government move has prompted the Duchess of Norfolk, Chair of Help the Hospices, to write to the Secretary of State for Health, Kenneth Clarke, explaining that although some hospices do have contractual arrangements with local health authorities, others received some money from their health authorities in the form of grants, and many others received no money at all. "Limiting Government help to contractual arrangements hardly begins to give our voluntary hospices the help they desperately need," the letter said.
The Duchess of Norfolk also pointed out that "a bit more fund raising" on the part of inelegible hospices will not help them to meet extra costs represented by the nurses' pay award.
The Government's decision to limit the allocation of pay award funds comes after assurances made by the Health Minister during the recent Tory Party Conference that money would be made available to help hospices in general, not just those which have beds funded by their health authority.