South's hospices join national campaign to raise much-needed funds
We're being encouraged to leave a gift in our will to help pay for care
Hospices across the South are teaming up to help raise vital funds to cope with increasing demand, reduced income and rising costs.
A new campaign urging people to consider donating to their chosen hospice through their will is backed by comedian Jo Brand who spoke of her family's experience and the "huge difference" such funding can make.
Hospice UK said it has brought together a coalition of 143 hospices across England, Scotland and Wales to shine a light on the "critical role of gifts in wills".
Among them are Mountbatten in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight, as well as Rowans Hospice in southern Hampshire and Oakhaven in the New Forest.
Legacy giving of around £294 million funds the equivalent of hospice care for 30,000 people a year across the four nations of the UK or 6,000 hospice nurses annually, the charity said.
Laura Eastwood, Director of Fundraising at Oakhaven, said gifts to them helped to generate nearly £1.5 million on the past year.
She added:
"We are looking after very difficult, and sometimes multiple, needs at the end of their life, so the need for our time for them is increasing too.
"Someone leaving a gift in their will is an incredibly powerful and enduring gift, one in four patients are looked after by that generosity."
Funding of end-of-life care has hit the headlines in recent times amid public debate over proposed legislation to legalise assisted dying, with many arguing there is a need for better access to and quality of palliative care.
In its polling of 2,000 UK adults last month, Hospice UK said that while almost three quarters (71%) said hospices deserve greater support, half currently cannot afford to donate to charity and only 27% have considered giving to a charity in their will.
Brand, whose brother died at a hospice in 2021, said it had been a "welcome sanctuary for us as a family at the end of his life".
She added:
"I'm so grateful for the kindness and care shown to us by the hospice staff and that's why I'm delighted to be supporting such an important cause.
"Legacy gifts, no matter how small, make a huge difference - so I'd encourage you all to consider supporting your chosen hospice."
Catherine Bosworth, from Hospice UK, said:
"Hospices support people at the most vulnerable time of their lives, easing the physical and emotional pain of death and dying, letting people focus on living right until the end.
"They provide choice, dignity and help families create lasting memories. They make life's most difficult moments less scary - but they can only do this with enough funding.
"While the injection of government funds has provided much-needed support for the sector, hospices rely on gifts in wills to continue offering the exceptional care people need.
"Leaving a gift in your will is a powerful and heartfelt way to recognise your chosen hospice for all that they do."