Hospice facing 'heartbreaking' funding shortfall

A hospice is struggling to cover rising costs, its leadership has warned.

Dove House Hospice, which serves Hull and East Yorkshire, will have to find an extra £500,000 from next April due to increases in employer national insurance and the minimum wage, which were announced in the Budget last month.

Chief executive Chris Sadler said the charity was being run on a "shoestring budget from the government" and called for a change to the funding system.

A government spokesperson said: “We want everyone to have access to high-quality end-of-life care and are aware of the financial pressures facing the hospice sector."

It costs about £11m a year to run Dove House, which provides respite and end-of-life care. The charity receives just over £1m in statutory funding, with the rest raised in the community.

Mr Sadler said there were no plans to cut services or jobs at present, but the extra money – the equivalent of funding about 10 specialist nurses – would be "difficult" to find.

The Budget announcements followed a rise of more than £1m in costs in the last financial year, at a time when demand was increasing, he said.

"The system of funding from the government is archaic, it’s not fit for purpose, it’s not sustainable.

"If that doesn’t change then more hospices will be closing services."

Mr Sadler called for hospices to receive a portion of the extra £22bn announced for the NHS in the Budget.

"We are providing mainstream healthcare services that save the NHS a considerable amount of money," he added.

Emily Ballinger, a healthcare assistant, was inspired to join Dove House after the hospice cared for her grandmother and grandfather.

She said it was "heartbreaking" to see hospices facing financial challenges.

"People think that it is just for end-of-life, but it’s so much more than that," Ms Ballinger said.

"Pain management, respite, but also the group sessions we provide, all rely on funds.

"If one of those services were to drop, it’s like breaking a link in the chain.”

Even before the Budget, Hospice UK, an industry body, estimated that the sector was heading for a deficit in the region of £60m this year.

Dove House is not the only hospice to raise the alarm. Last month, Chris Wheway, of St Barnabas Hospice in Lincoln, said the chancellor's announcements were "a hammer blow".

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to change the government's grant to "make sure we're protecting our hospices", with details due to be announced before Christmas.

The government spokesperson added: "We are determined to shift more healthcare into the community and ensure patients and their families receive high-quality, personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and hospices will have a big role to play in that.”

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