Funding boost will only go so far, say hospices

Hospices across Yorkshire and the Humber will receive a government funding boost of more than £1.9m - but leaders warned the cash would "only go so far".

A total of £25m will be distributed to improve facilities at end-of-life care centres across England, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed.

Minister for Care Stephen Kinnock said the funding would ensure staff could "continue delivering exceptional care in better, modernised facilities".

Michael Crowther, CEO at the Kirkwood hospice in Huddersfield, said the funding was "really welcome" but would go "nowhere near" meeting its financial challenges.

The Kirkwood will receive the third-highest funding boost of £160,020.

The hospice faces yearly running costs of £11m and needs to make huge savings in the next financial year.

Mr Crowther said: "The money is really welcome, and it's an acknowledgement of how important our services are to our local communities and to the NHS.

"But the scale of our financial challenge is £1.7m of ongoing running costs, so this will go nowhere near to helping to bridge that challenge.

"The truth is our services will not be available to as many patients and families as they have been in the past.

"The number of people that will benefit will reduce."

St Luke's Hospice in Sheffield will receive £223,481, the second-highest grant in the region following St Gemma's Hospice in Leeds (£225,450).

St Luke's medical director Dr Sam Kyeremateng said: "We are really grateful, but it doesn't help with day-to-day revenue or staff costs.

"For the government to step out and give us funding is extremely generous, and we will find a way to make it work for Sheffield and our people.

"It is a great opportunity, but there are two sides to it."

Meanwhile in York, St Leonard's Hospice will be given £144,606.

Its CEO Emma Johnson said her team were "really grateful to the government for recognising the contribution that hospices do make".

She said: "But as you would expect it's not enough.

"We need to have further conversations about how we get to a more sustainable way of funding hospices that isn't just one-off moneys."

The cash will be distributed immediately for the 2024/25 financial year, with a further £75m to follow from April aimed at "more substantial capital projects".

"This is the largest investment in a generation to help transform hospice facilities across England", said Kinnock.

"Hospices provide invaluable care and support when people need it most and this funding boost will ensure they are able to continue delivering exceptional care in better, modernised facilities."

Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, said the support would relieve immediate pressures on hospice finances.

"Several years of rapidly rising costs have curtailed the extent to which hospices have been able to invest in their infrastructure for the longer term.

"[The funding] gives us a golden opportunity to now reform the palliative and end of life care system, so it's fit for the future."

Other hospices across Yorkshire and the Humber receiving the funding include:

• Barnsley Hospice (£80,039)
• Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice, Sheffield (£73,256)
• Dove House Hospice, Hull (£111,822)
• Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, Huddersfield (£75,232)
• Lindsey Lodge, Scunthorpe (£78,755)
• Overgate Hospice, Elland (£85,938)
• The Prince of Wales Hospice, Pontefract (£70,669)
• Wakefield Hospice (£78,381)
• Rotherham Hospice (£121,115)
• Martin House Children's Hospice, Wetherby (£148,596)
• Saint Catherine's Hospice, Scarborough (£104,720)
• Saint Michael's Hospice, Harrogate (£140,243)

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