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.