An agreement worth €2.5 million over a period of three years, until 2023, was signed in order to provide Hospice Malta with more funding for their palliative care service, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Tuesday.

Hospice Malta is a voluntary organisation which was established to provide and promote the highest standards of palliative care for persons with cancer, motor neurone disease, end of life respiratory, cardiac, renal and liver disease. It also aims to help and support their families.

“Hospice Malta has for the last 30 to 40 years aided people through their professional help. They ease the minds of patients and their families as they spend it with people that they love and know that they are in a comfortable place,” the Health Minister said.

“This is very important work, and whoever went through this knows how much this environment helps.”

Fearne said that the government is proud to help the NGO with their work.

Fearne said that just because it is an NGO, then it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t perform its work professionally – in this case, it is quite the contrary. There are professionals within Hospice Malta’s ranks, he said.

The minister explained that the €2.5 million will be provided so that they can continue giving their services by providing them with financial help to pay wages for the employees, while also for the payment of specialised apparatus, beds, and so forth.

“I want to thank Hospice Malta for their work, which they do with dedication and love,” Fearne concluded.