Summary
Hospices nationwide are facing a funding crisis, and there is growing demand for these essential services. With seasonal pressures on our healthcare system, there are lots of reasons to get behind your local hospice and make sure it is still there in years to come. Together, we can make a difference – here are five important reasons to show your support.
1. Hospices are dedicated to offering specialist palliative and end-of-life care
Hospices provide a range of vital services, including:
- inpatient wards with specialist staff (for respite care, pain management and end-of-life care).
- home visits from specialist medical, nursing and therapy teams.
- a dedicated phone hub for urgent support.
- a rehab team offering physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
- wellbeing therapies and social groups.
- spiritual and psychological counselling.
2. Hospice care is under threat
Like many hospices across the UK, Martlets has provided essential palliative and end-of-life care for decades, supporting people in their own homes and in the hospice. We’ve kept people out of A&E and made it possible for them to die in peace in the place they have chosen, surrounded by their loved ones.
But the numbers don’t add up. Every year it costs more than £10 million to provide our services. This figure has rocketed as bills have risen, and it’s far more than we receive in government funding. We’re calling for this to change and are doing everything we can to make sure the hospice is here in years to come – but we can’t keep on running at a loss.
Patients and their loved ones are supported by Martlets’ specialist teams.
3. Hospices support families, too, with care and bereavement support
While the patient is at the centre of hospice care, their loved ones are never forgotten. Hospices offer practical, emotional, and psychological support to family members before, during, and after a patient’s death. At Martlets, these services include:
- respite care to give family caregivers a break.
- assistance navigating difficult medical and social care decisions.
- emotional and spiritual support from trained staff and volunteers.
- wellbeing therapies such as massage and reiki offered by trained volunteers, and social groups to support our patients in the community.
For many families, this support makes an enormous difference to how they cope, not only during their loved one’s illness, but in the months or even years that follow. They can step back into their family roles rather than being full-time caregivers and enjoy the precious time they have left together. By supporting your local hospice, you’re ensuring that these crucial, non-clinical services continue to be available to those who need them most—regardless of income or background.
4. It could be you or your loved one that needs our care in the future
One in four people in the UK who need hospice care can’t access it. Government funding is not keeping pace with rising costs and with growing demand for services hospices are having to make difficult decisions about who they treat. It’s a sobering thought, but one day it might be you, a family member, or a neighbour or friend who needs Martlets. Without the support of our local community – who provide the majority of our income through fundraising – we could not keep on caring.
Our nurses and healthcare assistants visit people in their own homes as well as caring for patients on our hospice wards.
5. Hospices provide essential care in the community to people in their own homes.
At Martlets, 80% of our expert care takes place out in the community. Our specialist community team visits patients at home, helping with symptom management and supporting mobility needs. This means patients can continue to live independently in familiar and comfortable surroundings. This person-centred community care reduces the need for hospital visits which takes the pressure off the wider healthcare system and services such as A&E.
Donate now so we can keep on caring
Will you make a donation today to ensure Martlets can continue providing life-changing care?
With your support we can keep on caring for families across Brighton and Hove and the surrounding area.
Supporting Martlets can be fun and there are lots of exciting ways to get involved. Whether through donations, volunteering, fundraising or attending events, you can help us ensure that local people have access to compassionate specialist care when they need it most.