A £25 million boost in funding for hospices and palliative care services in England has been welcomed.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement last week for the vital services which support around 200,000 people at the end of their lives.

The funding boost will enable hospices and palliative care services, such as the Primrose Hospice, to continue to be an important part of our end of life care services.

The £25 million is in addition to the announcement on June 1 to increase the children’s hospice grant from £12 million to £25 million by 2020/24.

It will also build on the significant investment set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, including £4.5 billion of new investment in primary and community care which will help to provide greater support for those with the greatest need in our community, including people at the end of life.

David Burrell, CEO of Primrose Hospice, said: “Currently, it is not known how this money will be shared between the hospices so it is not possible to say how much Primrose Hospice may receive.

“Primrose Hospice, like all hospices across the country, provides invaluable care to people living in our community with life-limiting conditions and their families.

“While this care and support is provided free of charge to patients and their families, Primrose must raise £1.75million annually to run these services.

“The vast majority of this cost, around 85 per cent, has to be fundraised by our wonderful community in Redditch and Bromsgrove and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their incredible support.

“They jump out of planes for us, they walk across hot coals and do all manner of wonderful things to make sure their local hospice can continue to provide its vital services.

“We rely so heavily on them to help keep the hospice running that we also welcome the news that the Prime Minister and Matt Hancock have committed to working with hospices towards more sustainable hospice funding in the future.”

Also welcoming the announcement, Redditch MP Rachel Maclean added: "I’ve seen at first-hand how important hospices are, and how valuable the care is that they provide.

“I welcome this boost to their resources. They are a vital part of our healthcare system and we are privileged to have them.

"We simply cannot put a price on the compassion and love shown by the wonderful staff and volunteers.”