Taunton and Wellington’s MP, Gideon Amos, is warning that terminally ill patients across the country are facing cuts to vital hospice care.
A staunch supporter of St Margaret’s Hospice – based at Bishops Hull and with a hub in Yeovil – he is backing a Liberal Democrat campaign in Parliament to save our country's hospices.
The party is warning that many of them “are on the brink of collapse unless Government Ministers step in now.”
The warning comes amid news that two in five hospices nationally are planning cuts this year, with 50% of children’s hospices saying they may reduce or stop providing end-of-life care totally if new funding is not guaranteed within six months.
More than half of hospices ended the 2024-5 financial year in deficit, with one in five seeing a deficit of over £1m.
Sector hospice leaders are cautioning that “time is running out” for hospices across England.
The Liberal Democrats are putting pressure on the Government to step in with calls to end the ‘postcode lottery of care’ by allocating funding based on need, and for protected ringfenced funding for children’s hospices.
They are also demanding that April’s National Insurance hike, which has cost hospices £34m, be urgently reversed, and for additional support to protect bereavement services.
The party’s Care Spokesperson, Alison Bennett, tabled a Bill in Parliament this week as part of the campaign, to guarantee universal access to hospices and require the Secretary of State to come clean on the current gap in hospice funding.
The party hailed a "win" for children's hospices when the government awarded them £80 million funding over three years last week in response to the motion.
However, no funding was released for general needs hospices such as St Margaret’s.
Mr Amos said: “I know from the time I have spent at St Margaret’s in Taunton, about the essential support provided by our hospices based only on hand to mouth funding with no guarantees of what they will receive from one year to the next.
“Too many hospices are closing beds right now, leaving families with nowhere to turn.
"Government really must reverse its hiking of National Insurance contributions, the jobs tax, which is costing our hospices a staggering £34 million nationally.
“No reasonable person can justify dropping such huge taxes on to our hospices.
“Reversing the jobs tax for hospices and small businesses needs to be part of the Government's next budget.
“In particular, we mustn't see anybody end their days in unnecessary pain or difficulty just because the jobs tax is loading such huge costs on to our hospices.”
Joanna Hall, Interim CEO of St Margaret’s Hospice, said: “While St Margaret’s receives some funding from the government, over 70% of our income is generated by our generous community coming together in support of the hospice, whether that’s through fundraising, participation in events, buying lottery tickets, leaving gifts in a Will, or donating and purchasing items from our 31 shops.
“It’s a huge undertaking each year, and not one we take for granted.
“There is no doubt that as the demand for our care increases, and costs rise, it will become increasingly difficult to balance the books without a fairer and more sustainable funding model.
“Our new five-year strategy, Time to Care – Now & Always, recognises the challenges ahead and sets out how we can address this by raising our voice, enhancing our care, and crucially, stewarding our resources.
“That’s why adding our voice to the collective call to government for long-term reforms is so important.
“Change will only be achieved if we can demonstrate the impact hospices have in local communities; that we are part of the solution, and that we are expertly placed to help the NHS meet its new ten-year plan to shift more care into the community.”
