Hospice warns funding loss would be 'catastrophic'

A children's hospice has urged MPs to ensure essential funding to give hospices a secure future.

Forget Me Not, which is based in Huddersfield, said the loss of the National Children's Hospice Grant would be "absolutely catastrophic" for the families it supported.

Chief executive Gareth Pierce met MPs on Tuesday to discuss the "critical" support needed.

The health secretary told the BBC he would announce details of plans to change the government grant before Christmas.

In September, Hospice UK said 2023-24 “was by a distance the worst financial year we have ever seen for the hospice sector”.

The National Children's Hospice Grant, worth £25m for hospices across the country, is due to end later this year.

The grant funds 10% of Forget Me Not's overall financing with a further 2% from other statutory sources.

"If there's any risk at all of that grant not being forthcoming in the future, it will be absolutely catastrophic," said Mr Pierce.

"We want to see some real urgency and pace for children's hospices moving forward."

Forget Me Not provides care for babies and children with life-shortening conditions which extends beyond medical care.

Starting from pregnancy, it includes nursing, hydrotherapy and end-of life care.

"When families come to us for support, they're going through the worst possible time in their lives." Mr Pierce continued.

"Families tell us day in, day out, that literally without our support, they don't know what they would do."

He said the help the hospice offered was vital and it was "quite frightening" to think it would be unable to deliver that in the future.

The charity not only wants the government to pledge the funding will continue but to see it increase in line with inflation.

Labour MP for Huddersfield Harpreet Uppal called the service provided by Forget Me Not "crucial" for families in West Yorkshire.

She hosted the meeting and said she was committed to championing the hospice.

"We're looking at different ways that we can support them, part of that is making sure we get our messages across to our colleagues in the front bench.

"We need some sustainable long term funding, we put those contributions to the health team and there were some really positive discussions around that."

Speaking to the BBC, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "I’m currently looking through our budget for the next year and how we allocate resources, but I want to make sure that we’re protecting our hospices.”

Pressed on when he would be able to say more, Streeting said: “I recognise that they need to be making decisions for the next financial year, so before Christmas.”

A Department of Health and Social Care 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, and of the huge generosity of the British public, whose donations provide a significant proportion of hospice funding."

They said they wanted to shift more healthcare into the community and ensure patients and their families received "high-quality, personalised care in the most appropriate setting".

"Hospices will have a big role to play in that shift", they said.

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