First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly have visited Foyle Hospice in Derry~Londonderry to see first-hand the vital role hospice care plays for patients, families, carers and bereaved people across the North West and West of Northern Ireland.

During the visit, NI Hospice Chair Ian Sheppard, Chief Executive Trevor McCartney and members of our care team showed the dignitaries around our children’s unit and gardens – spaces designed to provide comfort, care and dignity for the children and families we support every day.

New research launched today by the end of life charity, Marie Curie, reveals significant pressure on acute care services by people with a terminal diagnosis, with an estimated one in five calls to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) relating to someone in their last year of life.

Members of the Hospice Alliance NI welcome the additional funding announced today (22^nd May 2026) by the Health Minister for hospice services.

Hospice Alliance Northern Ireland met with the Health Minister on Wednesday 20 May, to talk about the growing financial pressures facing hospice services across the region and the urgent need for sustainable funding.

Hospice Alliance Northern Ireland is extremely disappointed by the Department of Health’s response to the Palliative Care Inquiry recommendations. We are dismayed that whilst the Department accepts almost all 27 recommendations, it does not commit any additional funding to deliver them.

During a visit to Evora Hospice in Newry, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt highlighted the collaborative approach behind the newly announced Cancer Charities Grant Scheme.