St Teresa’s Hospice, which looked after more than 1,200 people last year, continues to face “significant financial pressures” as both demand and costs rise.
The charity has been providing end-of-life and palliative care for the last 40 years – but without more support, it faces an “increasingly difficult” future.
It comes after Parliamentarians and supporters handed a letter to Number 10 on Tuesday calling on the Government to give “urgent priority to ensuring that hospices are able to continue delivering the vital care on which so many rely”.
The group argue that, despite previous funding announcements which were welcomed across the sector, significant concerns remain over long-term sustainability.
St Teresa’s Hospice, Darlington (Image: The Northern Echo)
Nicola Myers, chief executive of St Teresa’s, said the hospice is proud that 100 per cent of people using its services say they would recommend it to their friends and family – but that finances are continuing to prove challenging.
She told The Northern Echo: “In the past few years, the proportion of our running costs covered by government funding has fallen from 35 per cent to 25 per cent, while demand for our services and the cost of delivering them have continued to rise.
“Like many hospices, we have absorbed rising costs wherever possible and have worked hard to protect our services.
(Image: Sarah Caldecott)
“The reality is that there are no easy savings left to make.”
Ms Myers said that without more financial support, hospices will find it increasingly difficult to meet growing demand while investing in services the communities “need and deserve”.
She continued: “Hospices are not an optional extra; they are a vital part of the healthcare system.
“If we are to continue providing the care that local families rely on, there must be a fairer and more sustainable approach to hospice funding now and in the years ahead.”
St Teresa’s Hospice (Image: STAN SEATON)
Hospices in the region have long been calling for “urgent” action over the “cliff edge” funding crisis.
Last month, it was announced that Teesside Hospice and Butterwick Hospice were set to merge in a bid to protect their future amid “unending” financial woes.
The decision was made to ensure “long-term sustainability” of end-of-life care across the North East at a time when demand is increasing year on year.
St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham was even forced to lay off 21 members of staff last year in a “devastating” blow.
This week, entrepreneur Corin Dalby handed in the letter to Number 10 calling for more support, backed by approximately 285 MPs and peers.
He gathered outside Downing Street on Tuesday armed with ‘fair funding now’ signs alongside people from across the political spectrum.
The Government soon plans to publish a new palliative care and end of life care modern service framework to “improve access, quality, and sustainability” in the sector.
It will address significant challenges within the sector, including avoidable hospital admissions, variation in local and regional provision, workforce shortages and gaps in 24/7 palliative care.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Hospices do incredible work to support people and families when they need it most and are facing incredibly tough pressures.
“This government made the biggest investment in hospices in a generation – £125 million – to improve hospice facilities, freeing other funding for patient care, and has also committed £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices over three years.
“We will soon set out our plans to modernise and improve the palliative and end-of-life care sector, as we shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, with hospices playing a central role in delivering care closer to home.”