East Wiltshire MP pleads for government support of local hospices
Danny Kruger raises concerns about funding shortages
East Wiltshire MP Danny Kruger has urged the public to support local hospices, citing inadequate funding and resources.
Kruger, who has long opposed assisted dying on practical grounds, highlighted the issue in a Facebook post on 22nd May while expressing concerns over local palliative care facilities.
Kruger pointed to Prospect Hospice near Swindon, currently operating at half capacity due to financial constraints, resulting in turning away six dying individuals each week.
“Patients are ending their lives in corridors in Great Western Hospital, four miles away, because of a failure to fund end-of-life care,” Kruger said.
In Devizes, Julia’s House Children’s Hospice faces similar challenges, struggling for financial support despite caring for seriously ill children.
Kruger said, “The most moving visit I’ve paid as an MP was to Julia’s House: a truly wonderful place, full of sadness and goodness. Yet they only get eight per cent of their income from the government.”
He called for minimum government standards to ensure local health commissioners adequately fund palliative care as part of NHS obligations.
Kruger, now representing the East Wiltshire constituency for Reform UK, highlighted the insufficient government support for hospices, noting that funding does not align with increasing costs and demand.
Following the 2024 general election, the Labour government announced significant investments in hospice infrastructure but did not address continuing operational costs.
Hospices like Prospect and Julia’s House continue to voice concerns over funding deficits with Prospect Hospice CEO Jeremy Lune acknowledging a £1m shortfall for the year due to “stagnant government funding” and rising costs.
Lune remarked on the “dramatic” decline in NHS funding in real terms, while Julia’s House emphasises receiving no NHS commissioning income for Wiltshire despite providing care locally.