Hospice UK response to Scotland’s Programme for Government

The Programme has set out some important commitments for palliative care. We particularly welcome the commitment to ensuring pay parity for hospice staff with the NHS over the next five years. Now, the focus must be on putting a clear process in place to ensure hospice staff receive a fair pay rise year on year in line with their NHS colleagues.

We are however disappointed that a new hospice funding framework is not included. The framework is crucial to the sustainability of the hospice sector and we must see action to put hospices on a more secure financial footing.

Helen Malo, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Scotland said:

"Palliative care cannot wait. Sustainable funding for hospices is essential for our communities and essential to deliver the Scottish Government’s vision for transformation.

Without a funding framework, more hospice services are at risk and more people will go without the dignity and care they deserve at the end of life. It is unacceptable that nearly 1 in 3 people in Scotland do not receive the care they need when they are dying, with many facing their final weeks in a hospital bed when they don’t need or want to be there."

Hospices are essential partners in the public service reform laid out in the Programme for Government and we strongly welcome the Government’s commitment to working with the third sector. Today and every day hospices already deliver care that meets Government ambitions to move care closer to home, reducing both hospital use and delayed discharges.

The hospice sector stands ready to work with Scottish Government to ensure everyone in Scotland receives compassionate and high-quality care at the end of life.

• Deliver a new Paediatric Palliative Care Suite - ‘Molly’s Suite’ - building on Molly Cuddihy’s legacy to offer a more private space for children and their families in the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow. 
• Support NHS pay parity for hospice staff with an increase of funding to £9.4 million in 2026/2027 and help ensure that pay parity is maintained throughout this Parliament. 
• Develop new Palliative Care Guidelines to support clinical teams across Scotland. 
• Provide free palliative care education resources for Scotland’s health and social care workforce.