For over 40 years, Hospiscare has provided specialist end-of-life care for people living with terminal illnesses across 1,028 square miles of the heart of Devon.
But now – despite the difference the hospice makes to the lives of many Devonians and the determined support of thousands of local people – we are facing a £2.5 million funding gap that has forced us to reduce some services.
The hospice costs almost £10 million a year to run and we have to raise over 80% of that amount through charitable fundraising every year, with the Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB), the local organisation that allocates government healthcare funding, providing just 18%. This is well below the national average of 37% that other hospices receive.
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Andrew Randall, Chief Executive of Hospiscare, explains:
“Residents in our area deserve the very best care at the end of their lives and it’s not right that existing services should be cut. We’ve had frank discussions over the last 12 months with the Devon ICB about increasing our funding fairly in line with other hospices, but so far they have refused to increase our funding in line with the national average and there’s simply no reason for this inequity.”
We urge our supporters to write to Dr Sarah Wollaston and Bill Shields, Chair and CEO of the ICB, to ask them to fund Hospiscare fairly so we can continue to provide outstanding-rated care to local patients and families living with terminal illnesses.
→ Take action now:
Copy and paste the template below – being sure to add your own words to the penultimate paragraph – and email to d-icb.corporateservices@nhs.net.
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Dear Dr Wollaston and Mr Shields, RE: Risk to Hospiscare services – how will inequity of hospice funding be addressed? I am writing to you regarding my local hospice, Hospiscare, and the inequity of its funding allocation from the Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB). I understand that Hospiscare receives just 18% of its costs from government funding allocated by yourself, in comparison to a national average of 37%. Furthermore, our hospice is the lowest funded in Devon, although it cares for a comparable number of patients as other hospices in the county and across a larger geographical area. My local hospice provides an outstanding service for thousands of local patients and families and is rated as five-star by its patients. The charity and its supporters do an amazing job in raising millions of pounds every year toward the costs of the hospice, but the inequity in funding from your body means the hospice is nevertheless facing a £2.5 million funding gap and must now look at cutting this vital service. Without Hospiscare, its patients will need to be treated in an acute hospital setting where they will be a further demand on the NHS system and cost the NHS additional millions in direct care. This will be a devasting loss to local people. The hospice means a lot to me because [please add your own words here]. I am writing today to ask you to reconsider your position regarding Hospiscare’s funding and take steps now to ensure that our hospice is funded fairly, now and into the future. Yours sincerely, [Your name] |
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