Health minister Edwina Hart announced last week that the Welsh Assembly Government would spend an extra £8m on hospices over the next three years. Funding of £1m will be available in the current financial year, followed by £2m in 2009/10 and £5m in 2010/11.
However, no decision has been made on how the money will be split between adult and children's hospice services. Instead, an implementation group chaired by independent peer Baroness Finlay is to examine gaps in services and decide what the spending priorities will be.
Barbara Gelb, chief executive of Children's Hospices UK, welcomed the extra money but warned: "It is likely the funds will be spread thinly, given the breadth of the sector across both adult and children's services. Nevertheless, we would like to see the two children's hospice services in Wales getting a fair slice of the cake."
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