‘Shameful’ – Salford hospice boss laments underfunding of sector revealed in new report

The head of a hospice in Salford says more government money is needed to ensure the sector can allow people to die with dignity.

Rachel McMillan, Chief Executive at St Ann’s Hospice, which has a site in Little Hulton, says it’s “not a surprise at all” that hospices are underfunded by £47 million per year, according to new figures from Hospice UK.

Hospice UK calculated that for adult’s hospices, there is now a £47m gulf between the actual funding received and what the figure would have been had it kept pace with inflation.

Ms McMillan told Salford Now that St Ann’s has to raise £20,000 a day to be able to continue to provide palliative care at the Little Hulton hospice.

She explained more money is needed from the chancellor and government to help support people who die with dignity in hospices.

She added: “When you see the amazing things we do on an absolutely crushed and squeezed budget and the difference we make… If he (Jeremy Hunt) couldn’t see that then it’s absolutely shameful.

St Ann’s Hospice operating costs are funded mostly by donors, with only a third of their bills being footed by the NHS.

The hospice boss added: “It’s even more of a challenge recently, coming out of COVID straight into the cost of living crisis and people have less money.”

“If people had a few pounds a few years ago, they don’t have that in their pocket anymore – they’ve got food to put on the table for their kids.”

Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, said the figures reveal a system that is ‘unfair and short-sighted’.

“Hospices are a vital part of our wider healthcare system,” he said. “It is unfair and unrealistic for the Government to allow their funding to hospices to fall short and expect local communities that support hospices so generously to make up the shortfall.
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“We’ve been warning for over a year about the impact that insufficient Government funding will have on essential hospice services. It’s getting critical.

“Hospices care for some of the most vulnerable people in society, those at the end of their lives or grieving. But they are increasingly worried about the future of their services, with nearly every hospice in the UK spending more than it brings in.”

St Ann’s helps people from across Greater Manchester who are over the age of 18 and affected by life-limiting illnesses, and supports their loved ones and carers too.

The new figures released by Hospice UK have shone a light on the underfunding of crucial palliative care services.