Calls for changes to hospice funding as end of life care struggles to operate

Changes minimum wage and national insurance are also making it harder for the hospice to operate, bosses say. Credit: ITV BORDER

Cumbrian hospice bosses are calling for changes to how the palliative care sector is funded, as it becomes 'harder and harder to operate'.

The Eden Valley Hospice, based in Carlisle, is mostly funded by fundraising and charitable gifts, which have significantly reduced.

It comes as concerns grow for the future of the hospice as bosses battle against rising costs, decline in donations and increased demand.

Changes to minimum wage and national insurance has increased Eden Valley's outgoings by £300,000. Credit: ITV BORDER

The hospice is a charity dedicated to providing specialist care for adults in north Cumbria who have life limiting conditions.

Julie Clayton, Eden Valley Hospice, said: "We are struggling with the cost of living. We've been affected by the cost of giving and we are probably not expecting to bring in as much money this year as it costs us to run. And we're seeing that right across the hospice sector.

"We get a small amount of our money from the government through the NHS. So for us that's about 20%. The other 80% we rely upon our community."

With challenges making it harder for hospices to operate, Ms Clayton is calling for a change to how hospices are funded, with more support coming from the government.

Hospice bosses are calling for changes to how hospices are funded. Credit: ITV BORDER

Ms Clayton thinks it is problematic that doctors who are experts in palliative care are paid for largely by donations, whereas a doctor in the NHS is funded by the NHS.

She continued: "There's a real need to have a conversation about hospice funding specifically and not everybody that's dying will need to come to a hospice. But we know that we are caring for patients who are much more complex.

"We know that the public has been subsidising that care through their generous donations for a long, long time, and we need to have a real think about whether it's okay for an NHS doctor to be providing that care fully paid for by the NHS. But a hospice doctor to be paid for by parachute jumps."

Changes to minimum wage and national insurance in the UK Governments October budget have also increased outgoings by £300,000 for the Hospice.

It comes as other hospices across the UK are being forced to reduce services, due to falling donations and rising costs.

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