THE lack of any hospice facilities in Dumfries and Galloway has been raised by one of the region’s MSPs.
Finlay Carson, who represents a Galloway and West Dumfries, believes hospices are needed more than ever to help keep people out of hospital and reduce the pressure on the already overstretched NHS.
And he has written to Neil Gray, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, asking him to look into the matter.
Mr Carson yesterday said: “I find it wholly regrettable that there are no hospices in Dumfries and Galloway.
“It effectively means that families have to travel outwith the region to be with their loved ones in their final days at what is already an extremely stressful time.
“I hope that the Cabinet Secretary will investigate this anomaly and find ways to address the situation.”
The MSP has also asked if there will be any financial support provided by the Scottish Government to ease the growing financial strains being experienced by hospices across Scotland.
Despite increased demand for their services, many hospices are in dire financial straits and rely heavily on charity donations because of a declining share of NHS funding in Scotland.
Mr Carson added: “Hospices are charities and are dependent on donations and fundraising in order to employ nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, counsellor and support staff.
“While hospice care is always provided free of charge, a number of hospice managements have warned of the danger of regrettably having to turn people away because of financial difficulties.”
The UK Government have pledged to come up with a funding rescue package for hospices in England – but a similar commitment has not, so far, been forthcoming from the Scottish Government
