12,000 terminally ill patients at risk from cuts to care, as Streeting warned hospices are “on the brink”

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

• Analysis follows news that 2 in 5 hospices are planning cuts this year, with 50% of children’s hospices saying they will cut or stop providing end of life care altogether if new funding is not guaranteed in 6 months.
• Sector leaders are warning that “time is running out” for England’s hospices.
• Liberal Democrats launch a “save our hospices” campaign, which promises to prevent closures, end the postcode lottery of care and protect children’s hospices from losing ring-fenced funding.

Analysis from the Liberal Democrats, using survey data from Hospice UK and ONS weekly statistics on registered deaths, suggests that more than 12,000 people could face cuts to the hospice services that care for them. It follows revelations on Wednesday that more than half of hospices ended the 2024-5 financial year in deficit, with one in five seeing a deficit of over £1m.

The Hospice UK survey found that 40% of hospices are planning to make cuts this year due to “surging costs”. It follows cuts being made by 20% of hospices last year.

New analysis of ONS figures reveals that more than 30,000 people in England are now spending their dying days in a hospice each year, up from 26,566 in 2020. If use of hospices remains at the same level as 2024 and 2025 then planned cuts could hit services providing care for up to 12,225 terminally ill patients in the next year.

Hospices receive just ⅓ of their income from the NHS, the rest coming from charitable contributions. The cost of living crisis has sapped donations, and the cost of services has risen, accounting for a £47m cut in funding between 2022 and 2024. No new emergency support beyond capital funding has been announced by the government.

The Liberal Democrats are putting pressure on Wes Streeting to step in. They have launched a campaign to “save our hospices” - 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. Their care spokesperson, Alison Bennett is tabling a bill in Parliament next week to guarantee universal access to hospices and require the Secretary of State to come clean on the current gap in hospice funding.

Lib Dem Care spokesperson Alison Bennett MP said:

“Our hospice sector is hurtling towards disaster.  Staff are being laid off, beds are mothballed and patients are paying the price. Countless families are anxious about what will happen to their child or parent or friend in the months ahead.

“Rather than tackle this crisis, the government is burying its head in the sand. Complacency is inexcusable while people die in avoidable stress, isolation and discomfort.

“We hope our new campaign to fix this broken system will make the government sit up and listen, and finally take the urgent action that hospices - and thousands of families - are crying out for.”

Hospice UK CEO, Toby Porter, has warned:

“Hospices are on the brink. Surging costs have led to many services being cut back - just as demand is rising, fast, because of our ageing population. As it stands, roughly two in five hospices are planning to make cuts this year.

"The government provided some very welcome short term funding last year and this year, and has committed to working towards a long term sustainable approach to funding hospices. But hospice leaders are now increasingly asking whether charitable donations can continue to bridge the gap between government funding and the cost of care. The situation is not sustainable, and time is running out.”

For children’s hospices, the crisis could prove even more severe. Ringfenced children’s hospice funding still hasn’t been confirmed, and the sector remains fearful they could soon see a devastating hit to finances. 50% of children’s hospices in England will have to cut or stop providing end of life care altogether if funding is not confirmed in the next six months, warns Together for Short Lives, who represent Britain’s children’s hospices.

Nick Carroll, Chief Executive of Together for Short Lives, said:

“Seriously ill children receive lifeline palliative care in hospital, at home and at their children’s hospice, creating precious moments of joy for them and their families. But these crucial services do not know how much NHS money they will be receiving in just a few months-time.

“Children’s hospice and palliative care services urgently need government funding that lasts. As soon as possible, ministers must move away from single-year sticking plaster approaches to funding children’s hospice and palliative care. As part of this, the government must protect, maintain and increase ringfenced NHS funding for children’s hospices in England from £26 million this year to £30 million by 2030.

“Time is short: ministers have said that they want to avoid a financial cliff edge, but vital services are heading there again. We will only be able to make sure that vital hospice and palliative care is there for children and families next year if the government acts soon.”

Acorn’s Hospice, England’s largest children’s hospice have staged a visual protest to plead for relief: painting a mural of Keir Starmer made with the handprints of dying and seriously ill children under their care. They’ve warned that without new support they may have to start turning children away for the first time in its nearly 40 year history.

Trevor Johnson, Chief Executive, Acorns Children’s Hospice said:

“Like Acorns, all children’s hospices are currently facing extreme financial pressures – but the need for our services is greater than ever. Demand for end-of-life care at Acorns has almost doubled in the past year, with more families choosing our specialist nursing care and support in their child’s final days.

“Right now, the Children’s Hospice Grant - which is worth £26 million to children’s hospices across England - is under threat. That’s why we’ve been campaigning to secure the Grant, or a sustainable equivalent, to ensure that no child or family is denied the care and support they need.

”As part of our campaign, we created a powerful portrait of Sir Keir Starmer himself, made entirely with the handprints of dying and seriously ill children cared for at Acorns. Entitled ‘Hands for Hope’, we hope the Prime Minister hears our plea and guarantees the grant.

“The NHS 10 Year Plan for England talks about a sustainable model for care, but this can only come with long-term funding for lifeline services like Acorns, which play an integral part in the healthcare system, not only relieving the burden on the NHS but providing services that children and families simply cannot get anywhere else.

“With children and young people living longer with more complex conditions, the numbers of those who need our crucial support will only increase. We want to give families a choice in where and how they say goodbye to their child when they’re facing the darkest times in their lives.

“As the largest children’s hospice in the UK, we will continue this fight until we get confirmation from the Government that children’s hospices will be adequately and sustainably funded. Without it, we fear we may be forced to make heartbreaking decisions and turn away a family for the first time in our 37-year history.

“The future of children’s hospice care is in the Prime Minister’s hands.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

First reported by LBC.

The number of people dying in a hospice has risen from 26,566 in 2020 to 29,772 in 2024: