New funding announced for English hospices

A new 60 million pound funding pot has been announced by the government to help hospices improve quality of care for those nearing the end of their lives.

The money is open to all adult and children's hospices in England and will be available to cover a range of projects, including day therapy facility improvements, better outreach services, enhanced gardens and refurbished inpatient and visitor areas.

To qualify for funding, hospices must demonstrate that their projects deliver improvements that directly benefit patients, have a tangible impact on the physical environment and offer value for money.

Care services minister Paul Burstow said: "We want hospices to be able to provide dignified, compassionate, high-quality care and support to people and their families at what is a difficult time in their lives."

These latest commitments are in line with pledges made by health secretary Andrew Lansley last year to improve the quality of end-of-life care within the NHS.