Hospice boss asks government for 'fairer funding'

A hospice which helps people across Lincolnshire is calling for fairer funding.

St Andrew's Hospice in Grimsby, which includes Andy's Children's Hospice, costs £6m a year to run.

CEO Michelle Rollinson said the organisation's expenditure exceeds its income and it has to raise £5m as the government covers 18% of the money needed each year.

The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged there were challenges that would "take time to fix".

St Andrew's Hospice has been based in Grimsby since 1979. It was established as a charity in 1979 and began services in the early 1980s.

The children's hospice, Andy's, which helps children and their families across Northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire began operating in 2001.

Like other hospices it is expensive to run and has to raise millions every year.

Five hospices across the UK which care for terminally ill people have announced job cuts in the past two months due to financial pressures.

St Giles Hospice, which runs community services and in-patient sites, has started consulting staff on a reduction of 40 posts, including clinical roles, which could involve redundancies.

The organisation representing the sector, Hospice UK, has warned of a funding crisis and further cuts in services.

It said the government must provide urgent cash investment adding the system of funding for this sort of care was “chaotic” and needed “long-term fixing”.

Chief executive of St Andrew's Hospice, Michelle Rollinson, said: "We are struggling with expenditure being much higher than our income, the costs for running the hospice are a lot higher than the money we bring in.

Ms Rollinson called on the government to provide more financial support in return for the services they provide to their local communities.

Most hospices pay staff in line with equivalent NHS roles but have also struggled to match the 5% pay increase awarded in England last year.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This government has inherited huge challenges in the hospice sector, as well as a £22bn black hole in the public finances, so these problems will take time to fix.

They added everyone should have access to high-quality end of life care.

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