Regional funding boosted for hospices and cancer drugs

District Health Boards are now being allocated sufficient funding to allow them to fund hospices for 100 per cent of their essential services, says Health Minister Annette King.

Ms King today released a regional breakdown of the extra $5.9 million the Government is providing in 2005-06 to ensure DHBs adequately fund their hospice services. She also released regional details of $4 million in extra funding to buy new cancer drugs and to widen access to treatments already subsidised.

Both initiatives are part of the $40 million new funding announced in March for the first phase of the Government's Cancer Control Strategy Action Plan. The $40 million will be part of baseline funding for cancer control initiatives for each of the next four years.

Other initiatives included in the $40 million are $13.2 million for the breastscreen age extension and evaluation of colorectal screening policy; $6.4 million for primary prevention activities such as Healthy Eating, Healthy Action, free fruit in schools, Health Promoting Schools and DHB innovation funding; $2.2 million for smoking cessation services; $3.2 million for research and development; and $1.1 million for workforce development. Ms King says the Government is delighted to support the hospice movement. "Hospices began as voluntary organisations and, as recently as 2000, the Government contributed only about 50 per cent of their operating costs. Today's allocation will ensure all hospices are fully funded, via their DHBs, to provide essential services, such as clinical care and assessment and care coordination. The funding will also cover 70 per cent of total hospice costs across the country.

“The additional $5.9 million is being distributed to DHBs on a population basis to ensure funding is in proportion to the population's need. DHBs and hospices will now need to negotiate the correct level of top-up funding for individual hospices.

“An extra $1.8 million is also available for other priorities in the palliative care strategy, such as enhancing hospital palliative care services, and strengthening and developing support and rehabilitation services for people with cancer.”

Ms King says a significant proportion of the new funding for cancer drugs can be spent on treatment for early breast cancer such as aromatose inhibitors, and the rest can go toward funding new drugs for bowel cancer.
District Health Board Additional Palliative Care Funding Additional Cancer Drugs funding
Auckland 569,609 386,176
Bay of Plenty 320,192 217,080
Canterbury 660,041 447,485
Capital and Coast 349,398 236,880
Counties-Manukau 594,554 403,088
Hawke’s Bay 237,947 161,320
Hutt 188,252 127,629
Lakes 156,428 106,173
Midcentral 245,656 166,546
Nelson-Marlborough 203,912 138,245
Northland 247,874 168,051
Otago 272,048 184,440
South Canterbury 89,350 60,576
Southland 155,363 105,331
Tairawhiti 76,211 51,668
Taranaki 165,088 111,924
Waikato 501,169 339,776
Wairarapa 66,300 44,949
Waitemata 640,781 434,427
West Coast 52,581 35,648
Whanganui 107,243 72,707
Total 5,900,0000 4,000,000

© Scoop Media