‘We want fair government funding for hospices’
St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield and other Yorkshire hospices are calling for fairer government funding, warning that financial pressure could force cuts or closures. The campaign, led by Hospice UK ahead of the Budget, highlights how hospices provide palliative care as well as activities and social support for people with serious illnesses.
Hospice UK says 60% of hospices in England have made or are considering cuts to front-line services. St Luke’s costs more than £15m a year, receives about a quarter of its core funding from government, and must raise £11m locally to keep its services running; donations cover up to 70% of hospices’ costs nationally. Its proposals include proper NHS contracts for specialist palliative care, support for hospice staff pay rises and national accountability for end-of-life care.
- Hospices warn that funding pressure is leading to service cuts.
- St Luke’s receives about a quarter of its core funding from government.
- Hospice UK wants fairer NHS contracts and national accountability.
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Hospices care for people with serious illness, including those approaching the end of life. They may provide specialist medical care alongside activities and social support for patients and their families.
In England, hospices are independent charities and rely on a mix of public funding and donations. St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield receives about a quarter of its core funding from government and raises the rest it needs locally; across the country, donations cover a large share of hospice costs.
Hospice UK represents hospices and is calling for changes to how the government and NHS fund their work. The issue matters because hospices say financial pressure can affect the care and support available to patients and families.