Demand for Cambridge hospice 'only growing' amid funding cuts
The hospice needs to find £829,000 to save nine beds from being lost
The boss of a Cambridge hospice believes demand for its services is only getting higher.
Arthur Rank Hospice (ARH) could lose nine beds due to NHS funding cuts if it doesn't find £829,000 by April.
"With a growing population, the need for our care is growing, not diminishing, so we need to work with our partners and our community to try and ensure our service provision is there for everybody who needs it when they need it," Sharon Allen, CEO at the ARH charity, said.
Eight years ago, the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (CUH) commissioned ARH to provide nine additional beds for end-of-life care for its patients as part of a pilot scheme.
But since then, the Trust said these beds are no longer value for money.
"At the start of this financial year, in order to maintain core services within a reduced budget, we undertook an affordability and value for money assessment of these additional beds," a CUH spokesperson said.
Service this winter 'will not change'
Last month, campaigners joined Cambridgeshire's Liberal Democrat MPs to hand in a petition to Downing Street calling for the planned cuts to be scrapped.
One of those who travelled to Number 10 was Dr Rick Nelms, who has been cared for by ARH since he was diagnosed with primary lateral sclerosis in 2017.
"If you're on a busy hospital site, people are rushing about and it's not a serene place, whereas the Arthur Rank Hospice is serene," Dr Nelms told us at the time.
"It's a great place to go to die because you can be surrounded by your family in peace."
Ms Allen has previously warned that jobs at ARH are at risk if the money isn't found, but stressed the level of service towards those who need their care won't be affected.
"I'm very proud of our team that despite this disappointing news, their focus is totally on caring for our patients and their loved ones and that will not change," she said.
"In terms of patients, I don't think we see a spike but what we could be doing is supporting the hospital who definitely do feel those pressures because we've got capacity which they could be using.
"The team spirit is phenomenal; they know how challenging this is and are heartened by the impact our campaign to raise awareness of this and ask for help from our community has had."