Marymount Hospice to be fully state-funded under new measures

MARYMOUNT hospice is set to benefit from full state funding as part of government measures to take effect from February of next year.

The new plans will impact four voluntary hospice providers including Marymount University Hospital and Hospice. 

They will involve the redesignation of the organisation from Section 39 service level agreements with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to Section 38 agreements.

Currently, under Section 38 of the Health Act, the HSE may enter into an arrangement with a service provider for the provision of health and social services on its behalf. 

This allows for the allocation of full funding by the state. 

There are approximately 1,300 staff employed across the four hospices. 

The government is investing a total of €18.6 million as part of the proposed measures. 

Some 70% of inpatient and 74% of community adult specialist palliative care services are currently provided by voluntary hospices.

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly made the announcement, describing it as a ‘significant step’ towards universal access to palliative care.

"I am delighted to announce that the redesignation will take place this February,” he said. 

“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.” 

Mr Donnelly acknowledged the work of the hospice sector to expand their services.

“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,” he said.

“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. 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.”