Hospice leaders from across Greater Manchester are heading to Parliament today to ask MPs to support their calls to reform the funding model for hospices.
Since 2020 hospices in Greater Manchester have seen their total costs increase by 33%, with most of this cost having to be met by fundraising from the local community.
Now, the Greater Manchester Hospices Provider Collaborative, made up of Greater Manchester’s adult and children’s hospices, is asking MPs to sign a joint letter to the Minister of State for Health and Social Care, calling for the government’s new 10-year health plan to include commitments to improving palliative and end of life care, and reforming the hospice funding model.
Karen Edwards OBE, Chief Executive of Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley, Lancashire, said: “Hospices play a vital part in our healthcare system, but this care is at risk. Increasing demand, long term underinvestment and rising costs, mean many hospices are struggling to maintain their services. This, in turn, places more demands on the NHS.
“We are travelling to London today to meet with MPs to ask for support for fairer funding for hospices. We want their support to reform the funding model for hospices with a new 10-year health plan. Currently £11.7bn is spent on health care for people in the last year of life in the UK, but 80% of that funding is spent in hospitals. We believe this money could be better used by investing in hospice care, which currently only receives 4% of this funding.
“We are forever grateful for our community for doing so much to support Derian House Children’s Hospice, but we shouldn’t have to depends on our supporters as much as we do to fund these essential services for children.
“By investing in hospice care, we can reduce hospice admissions and make it more likely that people can die in their place of choosing. It is better for people, their families and the NHS.”
In Greater Manchester, hospices rely on their local communities to raise two thirds of their total funding. Demands on hospice services are only set to increase and the current funding model means they need to ask more and more of their communities every year – at a time when the cost of living is at an all time high.
The Government has made a commitment to invest £100m in additional capital spend in hospices over the next two years, which has been welcomed by Greater Manchester’s hospices, but only offers a short term solution. Long term reform is needed to protect hospice services.
The parliamentary event has been sponsored by Josh Simons MP, Member of Parliament for Makerfield.
