A vital Pembrokeshire charity fears it could fold after a “slap in the face” funding announcement.

The Paul Sartori Foundation, Hospice at Home is urging the people of Pembrokeshire to lobby the Welsh Assembly after a report recommended transitional funding of just £16,150 be granted to the charity.

The Paul Sartori Foundation already relies heavily on donations to fund the £600,000 annual cost of providing palliative care to patients in their own homes.

It currently provides more than 16,000 hours of nursing care per year, and the £16,150 allocation works out at about eight days’ care.

Hospice director Lorna Johns blasted the funding as “paltry” and added: “We were speechless and very saddened. Our faith in the planning of palliative care services has reached rock bottom. We feel this could be the writing on the wall for the future of Paul Sartori Foundation, Hospice at Home.”

The funding was among a series of recommendations accepted by health minister Edwina Hart on Monday in a report presented by the Palliative Care Implementation Group, chaired by Baroness Finlay.

Baroness Finlay has close ties to hospice care in Pembrokeshire as she is the patron of St Davids-based Shalom House, which offers palliative support on a daycare basis.

The report recommended the level of transitional funding for each hospice to bridge the gap until government funding begins – sometime up to late March 2009.

Of £275,665 allocated across the Hywel Dda Trust area, Paul Sartori is recommended to get £16,150, while £53,000 is recommended for Beacon of Hope (Bronglais), £127,915 for Ty Bryngwyn (Llanelli) and £78,600 for Shalom.

Mrs Johns added: “We feel this is a slap in the face for the 26 years of service and support from the county. We also feel the rural population needs have not been taken into account.

“The Hospice at Home service is a must but the Welsh Assembly does not appear to recognise that with the paltry sum allocated.”

Mrs Johns added: “We also noted there was a recommendation that the national charity Marie Curie open beds in a unit in St Davids.

“If the government is able to provide funding for staffing of beds then why not approach a local hospice which has an enviable reputation for high quality care?

“If a national charity is introduced into the county then Paul Sartori Foundation will be very threatened.”

South Pembrokeshire AM Angela Burns called the funding “very sad and short-sighted. I do find it extraordinary that rather than fund a well-established and highly committed organisation such as Paul Sartori the Government chooses to give money to a new service provider in Pembrokeshire.

“I appreciate that Marie Curie is well known but the funds will have to pay for set-up costs and establishment of the service whereas we have such a good option already in place with Paul Sartori. All it needs is decent funding.

“I also appreciate that Paul Sartori goes to people, but the new provision will demand that people go to St Davids. What about those in south Pembrokeshire?”

Preseli MP Stephen Crabb said he would be writing to Edwina Hart. He added: “Paul Sartori has a fantastic track record of providing high quality and greatly valued end-of-life care.

“I would hope its expertise and experience are recognised and valued by the Welsh Assembly, but from this funding announcement it would seem that this is not the case. I will be writing to the minister for an explanation and asking her to look again at the allocation.”

An Assembly spokesman said: "Funding allocations are based on a formula recommended by an expert group led by palliative care consultant Baroness Ilora Finlay.

Further funding will be available in future years, where hospices, working with local partners, can demonstrate they can deliver an agreed level of care and support for patients.

"Between 2004/05 and 2007/08 Paul Sartori Foundation has received £362,000 to help fund the equipment and training costs of a 2 bedded unit and a rapid response hospice at home team pilot scheme."

Renata Thomi, a spokesman for Shalom House said: “These are not definite findings and we need to clarify further what they will mean for us.”

See letters section for more on this story.