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Hospice funding welcomed amid calls for more help

Harriet Heywood
BBC News, East of England
Getty Images Close up of an elderly couple holding hands. One person wears a hospital gowns and a gold ring. The other is wearing a purple t-shirt. Their faces are not in view. Getty Images
The key funding allocations in the East of England have totalled more than £2.3m

Urgent help is still needed to fund hospice salaries, despite a £100m government funding pledge to improve end-of-life care, it has been claimed.

The capital grant brought on by increasing financial pressures was welcomed by palliative care sites in the East of England, including St Helena Hospice in Colchester, Essex.

Chief executive Mark Jarman-Howe said the money would provide "short-term budget relief", but could not be used for salaries, "which is where we need urgent help".

He added hospices had to plan for additional National Insurance contributions from April as well as above inflation national minimum and living wage rises.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting made the funding announcement at a time when hospice leaders said they were forced to close beds due to financial pressures.

The government said the capital grant was "the biggest investment in a generation" and would go towards improving buildings, equipment and accommodation.

The St Helena Hospice is expected to receive £237,083.

Mr Jarman-Howe welcomed the grant but hoped for a new long-term funding deal to prevent the risk of closure or scaling back.

"We cannot use this funding for salaries which is where we need urgent help," Mr Jarman-Howe said.

"We are still trying to catch up with the NHS Agenda for Change pay rises from last year and have to plan for further rises next year. These increased costs place an ongoing strain on our finances."

Kevin Clements, CEO of East Anglia's Children's Hospices in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, echoed calls for a long-term funding model.

"This couldn't be more important for the children and families we care for," Mr Clements said.

"Last year, we only received 15% of our total income from the government and with rising costs and growing demand for hospice services, the public's donations and fundraising are more important to us than ever."

This was split amongst the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, St Elizabeth Hospice and the St Helena Hospice.

A spokesperson for the St Elizabeth Hospice, which covers parts of Suffolk and Norfolk, said it was grateful for the government acknowledgment as delivering its services to more than 4,000 patients a year cost about £12m.

James Sanderson, chief executive at Sue Ryder, said: "We are encouraged by the prime minister's commitment to further improvements to end-of-life care in the upcoming 10 year plan for the NHS, and hope today's welcome boost indicates a long term commitment from this government to people at the end-of-life, which is so greatly needed."

Regional hospice grants

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