A week has now passed since Gareth Jones, Chief Executive, announced that St David’s Hospice will be temporary closing their four in-patient beds at Penrhos Stanley, Holyhead, from October 2025.
After raising the matter in the Welsh Parliament last week, and undertaking two meetings with the Chief Executive, Janet Finch-Saunders MS has now written to Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Welsh Government, so to request again:
- Emergency funding to keep the hospice open for the remainder of this financial year;
- A review of how hospices across Wales are funded, with the aim of delivering a revised model by the commencement of the next financial year.
Commenting after writing to the Cabinet Secretary, Janet said:
“About 90% of people who die are estimated to need palliative care. From 2017 to 2021, 88.1% of people who died in Wales would have benefitted from such care, and if need stayed constant at 90%, between 2023 and 2048 the number of people with palliative care needs is estimated to increase by 25%.
“Clearly, increased demand and the importance of palliative care is unquestionable. Already, it is extraordinary that a population of over 300,000 people in Conwy, Gwynedd, and Ynys Môn are only served by 16 hospice beds: 12 in Llandudno and 4 in Holyhead. With our area’s older population, and estimated increasing demands for palliative care, a 25% reduction in provision in North West Wales is absurd.
“When considering the facts, it is genuinely shocking that the Welsh Government, a week on from the announced closure, has failed to come forward with at least a short term rescue package.
“This is an emergency, and should be treated as such by the Cabinet Secretary.”
ENDS
