COVID 19 FUNDING FOR NORTHERN IRELAND HOSPICES
STATEMENT: COVID 19 FUNDING FOR NORTHERN IRELAND HOSPICES
Hospice Alliance NI, made up of the four Hospices in Northern Ireland have worked collectively to secure critical funding for their palliative care services. The Northern Ireland Executive announced £6.75M to support Foyle Hospice, Marie Curie NI Hospice, Southern Area Hospice, and the Northern Ireland Hospice & Children’s Hospice.
On behalf of the Hospice Alliance NI, Heather Weir, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Hospice and Children’s Hospice, said:
“We are relieved that the Executive are providing this additional funding for Hospices. This is especially needed at this challenging time as our services are in great demand and our staff continue to provide 24/7 care for local people in our Hospices and across communities. Having learned that the £200m announced by the Chancellor was not for Hospices in the devolved nations, we are thankful that the NI Executive quickly sought to clarify the position of local Hospices in Northern Ireland.”
Continuing she said, “The pandemic has highlighted the vital role Hospices play in the delivery of specialist palliative care, promoting comfort and support to patients and families at a very difficult time in life. We would urge the Northern Ireland Executive to consider a sustained level of funding for Hospices. This would allow us to focus on the delivery of our much-needed services and remove the constant threat of lack of funding.”
Donall Henderson, CEO Foyle Hospice also welcomed the announcement saying, “This helps with the income we have lost out on during the first few months of 2020, due to shop closures and suspended fundraising events, as well as wider economic uncertainty. Most importantly this funding recognises the need for our services and whilst it will go some way in alleviating the crippling financial burden that we are facing, it does not ensure that Hospices are safe and do not replace our income for the year. We know that our fundraising income will be dramatically reduced and we are grateful for every penny we receive from our extremely generous and supportive community. Ultimately this could have an impact on the delivery of our services in the future, but we want to reassure people that we are still here for them, providing compassionate care and support where it is most needed.”
Liz Cuddy, CEO of Southern Area Hospice shared, “Staff in all of the local Hospices have been working tirelessly during this crisis to continue to provide their excellent care for our patients and families across Northern Ireland. We welcome this announcement as recognition by the Executive of the vital support we provide to the Health Service.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact Shirley Oguz, Head of Corporate Communications, Northern Ireland Hospice 07714394030, shirley.oguz@nihospice.org
Laura O’Neill, Marketing, PR and Communications at Foyle Hospice 028 71351010, lauraoneill@foylehospice.com
Ciara Cunningham, Communications Manager at Southern Area Hospice Services, 07980 757 097, cunninghamc@southernareahospiceservices.org
