Rising demand and falling funds hit hospices hard

Sector increasingly reliant on public charity

Hospices are struggling to cope with increasing numbers of patients and government funding cuts, a report by leading national charities has revealed.

The Heart of Kent Hospice in Aylesford and Hospice in the Weald, Pembury, have both had funding frozen for the past five years.

Hospice UK, which carried out the research with Together for Short Lives, a charity for children with life-threatening and life-shortening illnesses, has called for a fairer system to stop charities reaching breaking point.

Statutory funding comes from clinical commissioning groups, local authorities, and the NHS, but the rest comes from fundraising.

Sarah Pugh, chief executive of Heart of Kent Hospice, in Hall Road, said: “We are having to work much harder to raise the money required to care for over 1,000 patients and their families every year.

“We are relying ever more heavily on the generosity of our volunteers and fundraisers to help us raise the £5 million we need.”

Beth Swarbrigg, fundraising director for Hospice in the Weald, highlighted the changes being made despite the funding drought.

“In the past three years alone, we have increased the number of terminally ill patients that we see each year by over 30%,” she said.

“The amount of funding we receive from the government is now less than 11% of our total annual running costs.”.

Rob Woolley, chief executive of the hospice, added: “While we see more terminally ill people who desperately need our support, it’s the community we serve who ensure we have the £7 million it costs each year to continue the vital services.

“To put it into context, we raise nearly £1 million every year from our charity shops, which is far more than we receive in funding from the government.”

Nationally, 65% of hospices have had government funding frozen or cut in the past year.

The national charities estimate more than £860 million was spent by hospices last year, but only around 32% came from the government.

Tracey Bleakley, CEO of Hospice UK, said: “The current statutory funding situation for adult hospices poses a significant threat to the long-term sustainability of the sector.

“There needs to be more investment and fairer funding from the government for hospice care to supplement the vital support provided by local communities, and to prevent hospices reaching crisis point.”

‘The current funding situation poses a significant threat to the sustainability of the sector’