In December 2024 the government announced that it would be providing an additional £100m of funding for adults’ and children’s hospices across England. This funding is to be allocated in the form of a grant across 200 hospices in England over two years: £25m in the 2024-25 financial year, and the remainder in 2025-26.
Last week the Department of Health and Social Care announced how it plans to distribute this grant, with Southern Hospice Group (Chestnut Tree House, Martlets and St Barnabas House) receiving £621,000 for the 2024-25 financial year. The funding is being allocated to cover capital costs: making improvements to the hospices’ physical environment, improving efficiency by investing in digital technology and increasing hospices’ capacity to care for patients at home.
We’re delighted with this grant which recognises the importance of hospice care and will go some way to alleviate the current financial pressures faced by the sector, from which we are not immune.
This much needed funding allows us to continue improving the services we offer to our communities despite these financial pressures. For example, being able to buy new garden furniture to allow patients and their families to enjoy our beautiful gardens, and training for teams to be able to skilfully maintain the newly re-built hospice building, ensuring it is a lasting support to those who need us for many years to come.
While the grant is a welcome addition this year, with more than 75% of our income coming from the public who so generously donate, fundraise and leave gifts in their Wills to support our work, we remain concerned about the sustainability of the current funding model for palliative and end-of-life care. The grant has been designated as a one-off fund for capital spend and does not address one of the biggest financial challenges we face: the recruitment and retention of skilled staff. Nor does it provide a long-term solution for continued rising costs, including additional National Insurance costs, continued inflation and growing demand.
Despite this, we recognise the significant and landmark financial contribution being made to hospice care in England and we are grateful that the importance of good end-of-life care is being recognised. We support Hospice UK as it continues to work with the Government and NHS to secure long-term reform of funding for palliative and end-of-life care, and remain hopeful for a future where hospices are sustainably funded, meaning that patients, children, young people and their families will always have access to the expert care and compassionate support they need during some of the most difficult times in their lives.
The remaining £75m of the two grants is yet to be allocated for 2025-26.
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Published: 07/03/2025