Wetherby children's hospice estimates loss of £2 million due to pandemic

Over three quarters of children's hospices in the UK are expecting their income to fall again this year

Author: Natalie HigginsPublished 23rd Jun 2021

A children's hospice in Wetherby's warned it could take years for them to bounce back from the pandemic after losing out on over £2 million worth of funding.

It's as Martin House Hospice's main fundraising events and public fundraisers had to be cancelled and charity shops closed.

The team provide family-led care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions but they've had to adapt the way they do this as a result of the pandemic.

Claire Hallsworth, chief executive of Martin House Hospice, told Greatest Hits Radio that it's been "difficult" for the children to come to terms with.

She said: "The voluntary income that we raise every year supports about 85 per cent of what we deliver. We've raised about £2 million pounds less than what we would've expected because of the ways we've had to adapt and change.

"The difficult thing now is catching up. We had a plan before the pandemic to bring our voluntary income to £10 million over a five year period but it's likely that's pushed us back 20 months."

At Martin House Hospice they have limited the number of people receiving treatment in the hospice and instead are providing at home care for majority of their service users.

Claire added that it has been difficult for families to adjust to that.

She said: "Our staff had to be dressed fully in PPE and masks and that's not what we're about. We're very much a home from home and it's not a hospital setting so it took on a different feel.

"Families had been at home for six months and they were really struggling. It's very hard to look after some of the children we support. They can be up multiple times in the night and supporting a child like this can be relentless."

The number of seriously ill children across the UK is rising, which means children’s hospices need to raise more money to provide essential care, especially amid the financial impact of the pandemic.

Children’s charity Together for Short Lives is warning that as the UK gets set to take tentative steps to leave Covid 19 behind, children’s hospices are feeling its effects more than ever – with over three quarters expecting their income to fall yet again this year, leaving them on a vulnerable financial footing. They need additional cash support to stop them being pushed to their limits.

Children’s Hospice Week, which runs from June 21 to 27 this year, is organised by Together for Short Lives, the UK charity for seriously ill children and families.

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