It was Hospice Care Week 2017, celebrating both 50 years since Dame Cicely Saunders established the hospice movement in the UK and the many faces of hospice care. I was re-elected as Chair of the Assembly Cross Party Group on Hospices and Palliative Care at its AGM, where Hospice UK also launched the ‘Hospice Care in Wales 2017’ report. In 2016-17, Wales’ 13 adult and 2 children and young people’s hospices directly supported 10,500 people in inpatient, day hospice and hospice at home settings, alongside support for many of their loved ones.
However, the Annual Report of Wrexham’s Nightingale House hospice states that it only receives 20% of its funding from the Local Health Board and Welsh Government.
As Marie Curie’s Report ‘Triggers for Palliative care in Wales’, said: ‘There is much work to be done if Wales is going to achieve its vision of access to high quality care for everyone who needs it, regardless of their underlying condition’. Speaking in the Chamber later, I noted that the majority of end-of-life care in Wales is provided by local hospices, and concluded “So, let us ask our hospices how they can help us do more”.
The Economy Secretary undertook to reconvene the North Wales Transport for Health Group after I raised concern with him in the Chamber that during my meetings this summer with Community Transport providers in Flintshire, I was told that although the Welsh Government had set up this Group to look at all transport-to-healthcare provision in the region, it hadn’t met since May 2016 and the Welsh Government had not reconvened the meetings at that point.
As a member of the External Affairs Committee, I spoke in the Debate on our Report on the Implications of Brexit for Welsh Ports, noting that this recommends “that the Welsh Government urgently addresses the lack of engagement it has had with counterparts in Ireland and other EU member states”. Although the Irish Government told us they had had over 400 engagements regarding Brexit across Europe, the Cabinet Secretary here confirmed that he had not yet met Irish Government counterparts to discuss the implications of Brexit for Ireland-Wales transport links.
As a Patron of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Cymru, I sponsored and spoke at their 8th Annual Social Work Awards, celebrating enthusiasm, commitment and sheer hard work from the social work profession across Wales.
I also Chaired the Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency and was formally elected as its Chair.
North Wales engagements included St. Bartholomew’s Church’s uplifting 150th Anniversary Service, celebrating one and a half centuries of community support in Sealand.
If you need my help, please email mark.isherwood@assembly.wales or ring 0300 200 7217.