Dorothy House Hospice Care’s Post

Weston Hospicecare warmly welcomes yesterday's announcement of special funding support for hospices. We are hugely grateful to Hospice UK, to The Rt. Hon. Wes Streeting MP, to our local MPs especially Daniel Aldridge MP who supported us wonderfully, and to the DHSC and NHS England for making this happen. At a time when there simply isn't enough money to go around, and there are so many other highly deserving charities and organisations desperately in need, we understand we are truly fortunate to have been singled out in this way, thanks in no small part to the spotlight thrown by the assisted dying debate on the desperate need for better funding for end-of-life care. We will ensure that every pound is put to good use, and nothing is wasted. We must just sound a note of caution amidst the celebrations... The headline figure sounds large, but when divided amongst 200+ hospices nationally over 2 years, and intended as it is predominantly for capital investment, it doesn't address the longer-term underlying problem of income growth not being able to keep pace with ever spiralling costs - in our case we have grown our income by 40% over 7 years but total operating costs have increased by 50% during that same period (the National Living Wage alone has grown by 55% over 7 years). Ultimately, a different funding model is needed; one which is fair, equitable and properly reflects the core costs of specialist palliative care as being not a 'nice to have' but rather something that each and every one of us deserves, can depend upon when the time comes, and reflective of a modern, caring society.

Birmingham Hospice welcomes the additional funding announced by the government to help with the immediate financial challenges facing hospices, and we look forward to hearing further details in the new year. While this is focused around capital investment, it will free up money to help cover short-term costs until a long-term, sustainable funding agreement is in place. We are pleased that the government has acknowledged the importance of hospice care and the vital role it plays in our communities. The current work on a 10-year plan for the NHS provides a great opportunity to ensure more people can access the care of their choice at the end of life. For investment in the hospice sector to be most effective, it will need to reflect how we deliver care, and allow us to maintain levels of specialist palliative care both in our hospices and out in the community, where the majority of our patients are. Support with day-to-day running costs such as staff pay is also needed if we are to restore services that have been lost and meet increasing future demand. Thank you to our colleagues at Hospice UK for their tireless work in making the case for additional investment in the sector.

Delighted with today’s announcement of £126 million for the hospice sector in England. This follows announcements of more funding for hospices in both Wales and Scotland over the past few weeks. It is fantastic to see the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recognise the value of hospice care and the contribution hospices across England can make towards the government’s shift towards more care in the community. I’m so proud of colleagues in Hospice UK and across the sector for making the hospice voice heard in recent months. https://lnkd.in/eJSq5GKU

Hospices are at a financial breaking point. Urgent and realistic Government support is needed to keep our services running. Protect Hospice care as you would the NHS. Last week St David's Hospice (North Wales) released this statement: WELSH HOSPICE AT TIPPING POINT is the message coming from St David’s Hospice in North West Wales after the Welsh Labour budget announcement this week. Richard Thomas, Chair of the Board of Trustees at the North Wales Hospice said: “Whilst we welcome the news of the £3 million reoccurring payment from Welsh Government, hospices need financial support right now, to be able to maintain our current level of clinical services. For the past ten years plus, statutory funding for hospices has not kept up with rising expenses, compounded by cost-of-living increases, salary adjustments required by Agenda for Change agreements, and recent hikes in both national insurance and the national minimum wage. “Due to all of this, St David’s Hospice is under extraordinary pressure and in 2025 we’ll be forecasting our third sizeable deficit, which is simply not sustainable. In order to maintain our current service delivery, we need decisive and urgent financial support from the Welsh Government today”. St David’s Hospice in North West Wales receives just 24% of its clinical costs through statutory funding and the remaining 76% must be raised through second hand shops, events, lottery subscriptions and donations. For the past five years, secondhand sales through the hospices network of charity shops have provided more income than statutory funding. Richard continued: “Every person in our community deserves the right to quality end-of-life care and we already know that one in four people are not receiving the care they need. The quality of respite and end of life services we offer in the rural communities of North West Wales are second to none and the multidisciplinary expertise we can offer as a third sector organisation is simply not replicated anywhere else”. The hospice fears that if the hospice deficit position is not addressed now, there will be no choice but to cut services which will mean even more pressure felt by the NHS. The greater impact is that service reduction will also severely limit the health boards capability to meet the palliative and end-of-life care needs of our aging communities, and to achieve the goals set out in the Quality Statement for Wales. The hospice sector is also pleading for a suitable commissioning framework before it is too late. The budget announcement is a step in the right direction, but we need a fair, ongoing commitment to meet our staffing costs, and a commissioning framework which pays for the services which are commissioned. We can then use our charitable donations to fund community-based services to patients and their families who need us now and in the future”.

UK Hospice Sector Faces £77m Deficit The UK hospice sector is in crisis, grappling with a £77m deficit due to rising costs and stagnant funding. This financial strain threatens essential end-of-life care services. Without immediate action, hospices may be forced to reduce services, lay off staff, or even close their doors, depriving patients and families of crucial support. We need increased statutory funding, innovative financing solutions, and community support to bridge this gap and ensure hospices can continue their vital work. Stand with us to support the UK hospice sector and ensure compassionate care for all. #SupportHospices #UKHealthcare

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The current climate has resulted in many UK hospices being forced to cut services, leading to fewer inpatient beds and community services being reduced. We need help and support available from local MPs across Lincolnshire and the new UK government. With hundreds of new MPs and a new government in place, it’s critical for St Barnabas Hospice and other UK hospices that the challenge is understood and positive change is supported. Please write to your MP now, using this simple 1 minute form to support your local community and show them how much hospice care matters. At St Barnabas, we have launched our Organisational Strategy for 2024 to 2029. This determines the direction of travel for our Hospice over the next five years, with strategic priorities that will help us sustain the level of care, support, and services that we provide to over 12,000 patients and their families across Lincolnshire, every year. Write to your MP: https://lnkd.in/e7JPAKMk Read our Organisational Strategy 2024 - 2029: https://lnkd.in/ekhNbtg6

Hospices in England are to receive £100m of government funding over two years to improve end-of-life care, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced.   Another £26m is going to hospices for children and young people. Rachel Black, CEO, St Joseph’s Hospice said “We welcome the announcement today that the government will be investing £100 million into Hospices over the next 2 years. Everyone deserves to have access to the compassionate care that hospices provide, and we hope that this funding will ensure that the best care is available to all. Hospices provide such a vital service to people with life-limiting illness, supporting people to ensure they have a good quality of life, right up until the end of life. We look forward to seeing the details of the funding award in the coming weeks.” If you'd like to find out more about this story, please follow the link below: https://lnkd.in/dWjzNExR #StJosephsHospice

Yesterday a landmark decision was made by Parliament on #AssistedDying. It is the beginning of a long process of debate, review, and hopefully meaningful consultation with all parties including hospices. We have decades of experience to bring to the table! What stood out for me listening to MPs on both sides of the debate was a universal recognition of the inadequate funding for palliative and end of life care particularly hospices. The principle funding of the care for people who are dying should not come from “cake and secondhand clothes sales”! So as already highlighted by those far more eloquent than me, including Toby Porter, Saiyada Fazal and many others, is that we must make sure that what follows is a discussion on all aspects of those choices, including sustainably funded end of life care delivered by amongst others hospices like Dorothy House Hospice Care. The stark reality is that hospices across the country, adult and children, are not currently receiving adequate or sustainable funding! So as the discussions go forward it is an imperative and an opportunity for the voice of hospices, as championed by Hospice UK, to continue to be heard. We are vital, valued and respected partners in the care of our society and meaningful choice, whatever that looks like in the future, requires well funded, compassionate and equitable end of life care including from hospices!

We have asked our MPs to attend the debate on hospice funding tomorrow, 22 April 2024. Why? ➡️ Hospices provide vital person and family centred palliative and end of life care, yet our NHS funding covers barely 30% of our costs; ➡️The cost of service provision is rising. To meet the increasingly complex and multiple care needs of individuals in our care, we need to attract and retain skilled clinical staff. We need to be able to offer them decent pay rises so they can live a good life and afford to feed their families; ➡️ We pride ourselves on enabling people in our care to live life to the full, till the end. Why is dying well such a low unspoken priority in our society? The profile of our sector needs to rise. Please do take part in the debate 🙏🙌