Somerset MP warns we need to protect our hospices
These latest calls come amid the news that 2 in 5 hospices nationally are planning cuts this year
Anna Sabine, MP for Frome and East Somerset, is warning that immediate action needs to be taken now to ensure the survival of vital hospice services in the region.
Anna has previously spoken up on behalf of Dorothy House hospice and their desperate need for support amid the NICS rise last year, using her first PMQ in February to get the Prime Minister to commit to a meeting with the hospice sector on the subject.
These latest calls come amid the news that 2 in 5 hospices nationally are planning cuts this year , with 50% of children’s hospices saying they may reduce or stop providing end-of-life care altogether 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.
“The social care system is in crisis and our hospices are reaching breaking point. I have spoken previously to Dorothy House that covers Frome and East Somerset and new financial pressures are forcing them to make decisions between who of their patients they can help.”
The south west receives the lowest percentage of funding for hospice care across England at just 24%, meaning hospices like Dorothy House are forced to work wonders with no support. With the need for end of life care predicted to rise by 25% by 2048, they are at breaking point.
“Hospices are being forced to pick up where the NHS leaves off and yet are majority funded by charity, it’s simply not sustainable and people in need deserve better. It’s time for the Government to step up now.” Anna said, lending her voice to the Liberal Democrat campaign to ‘Save Our Hospices’ that cautions that time is running out.
The Liberal Democrats are putting pressure on Wes Streeting to step in, calling for an 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 will table 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.
“Liberal Democrats are campaigning to save our hospices. No one should face their final days in pain, on a busy hospital ward, or even in isolation because government ministers are asleep at the wheel.”