Hospice funding
Emergency funding
The programme
includes a commitment to extend the emergency funding for children’s hospices
beyond 2011, when it had been due to expire.
A new system
The government
has restated its commitment to introduce a ‘per patient’ funding system for
hospice and palliative care providers in England. This commitment had
originally been included in the manifesto of the Conservative Party during the
election campaign, and was welcomed by Help the Hospices.
Reform of health and social care
An independent NHS Board
The government
will establish an independent NHS Board that will be responsible for allocating
resources and producing commissioning guidance.
Monitor,
currently the regulator for NHS Foundation Trusts, will take on an expanded
role as the economic regulator of health care, and GPs will be encouraged to
take on more responsibility for commissioning health care services.
Reducing the deficit
The government
has already announced £6 billion worth of cuts in the current financial year. The programme sets out more detail on how the coalition will reduce the
nation’s deficit.
An emergency
budget will be presented to Parliament on the 22 June. A full Comprehensive spending review will be
published in the Autumn that will set out the government’s spending plans for
the next three years.
Social action
The government
also intends to expand the role of charities and social enterprises in
delivering public services, as well as promoting volunteering and community
engagement.
Its ‘Big Society’ programme sets out a
range of measures to encourage people to get more involved in their
communities.
Social care
The government
will also establish a Commission on Long Term Care to come up with a
sustainable plan for reform of the social care system, and to break down the
barriers between health and social care.
Further information
Member
hospices can access a detailed briefing on the coalition government’s programme, which looks in more detail at the commitments and
considers the potential implications for hospice care.
You can also contact the policy team.
