Marymount to be state-funded
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly has announced the redesignation of four voluntary hospice providers, including Marymount Care Centre, which will be state funded from February.
The redesignation will provide a sustainable model of care for adult specialist palliative care services in Ireland and ensure the provision of these core services. The Government is providing €18.6m to achieve this.
Presently, voluntary hospices play a vital role in delivering palliative care services, accounting for around 70% of inpatient and 74% of community adult specialist care services. The four hospices undergoing redesignation from Section 39 to Section 38 status along with Marymount, are Milford Care Centre in Limerick, Galway Hospice, and St Francis Hospice in Dublin, encompassing Raheny and Blanchardstown. Combined, these hospices employ approximately 1,300 staff dedicated to providing essential palliative care services across the country.
Speaking about the redesignation, Minister Donnelly said: “I am delighted to announce that the redesignation will take place this February. It means that all adult hospices in our country will now be fully state-funded. This is a significant step towards our goal of providing universal access to palliative care.
“There has been excellent progress made since the HSE established a national implementation group to carry out this transition. I'd like to thank all members of the implementation group for their commitment and hard work. We are rightly very proud of our palliative care services in Ireland,” he said.
“The voluntary hospice sector has worked tirelessly down through the years, in partnership with local communities, to expand the network of hospice services around the country.
“The redesignation will provide financial and staffing sustainability to ensure that these providers of adult specialist palliative care services can continue their vital work. It will strengthen their core services and mean, for example, that fundraising by the hospices will no longer be required to cover payroll or other operational costs such as electricity and heating.
“I acknowledge the essential adult specialist palliative care services provided by these four organisations and the benefits the care they provide give to people with life limiting illnesses and their families,” he said.
“I commend the staff in these four hospices for the vital services they provide and for striving to ensure that patients under your care have the best quality of life,” the minister added.