“It’s crunch point”: Weston Hospicecare warn of service cuts as demand soars
A rise in demand and inflation has put significant financial strain on the hospice
Weston Hospicecare are warning they will have no choice but to cut services, if their financial difficulties don’t improve.
The hospice has published its latest Impact Report, which found they treated almost 2,000 patients – an increase of 11% in the last year.
Despite an increase in income revenue, the demand alongside inflation has put significant financial strain on the hospice.
“We have always been financially prudent,” said CEO Paul Winspear, “but our current financial situation is not sustainable and with growing patient demand predicted only to increase, something needs to change urgently.
“We’re in close contact with our sister hospices around the south west region and we also work very closely with Hospice UK.
“We know from both of those sources that what we are experiencing is very typical for the problems facing hospices nationally at the moment.”
“The cuts would be devastating”
Weston Hospicecare, similar to hospices across the South West, provide free-of-charge palliative and end of life care to families across Somerset.
“To think that services may need to be cut would be devastating to us,” said John Bailey, head of patient services.
“Western Hospicecare is such an embedded part of our community and the care system here.
“If a spaceship came and took us away, the health service for end of life would really struggle.
“In the hospices it’s not just a person with a cancer or heart failure or a neurological condition, it’s a person. A social, emotional person.
“As an example, some patients we’ve had are not going to get to Christmas.
“In June we had a patient who wanted to celebrate Christmas on probably the hottest day of the year and I had to dress as Father Christmas - it was sweltering.
“Our in-patient unit was full of family and friends and we had a Christmas meal in June!
“That’s what we do so well and we just need to continue to do that.”
“It’s crunch point”
As people live longer, Weston Hospicecare have seen an increase in the complexity of patient needs alongside an increase in demand.
These difficulties have combined with inflation growth and an increase in National Insurance employer contributions, costing the hospice around £130,000.
“The level of reserves is coming down and down and down and down it’s getting to the point where it’s approaching a red line,” said Paul Winspear.
“Unless we can turn things around very quickly and save on some of these cost increases, we’ll have no choice but to start looking at making service cuts and we really don’t want to do that.
“Although our income streams are growing and people are still giving and they’re still supporting us, it’s just not able to keep pace with the rising costs so things are getting tighter and we do feel as if we’re reaching a little bit of a crunch point.”
“If we make service cuts, those people will still need care, they’ll just go somewhere else - the hospital or they’ll be at home and they won’t get the care they need.
“We desperately don’t want to be in that position but it’s getting closer and closer to the point where we won’t have any choice.”
A government spokesperson said:
“We want everyone to have access to high-quality end of life care and are aware of the financial pressures facing the hospice sector, and of the huge generosity of the British public, whose donations provide a significant proportion of hospice funding.
“We are determined to shift more healthcare into the community and ensure patients and their families receive high-quality, personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and hospices will have a big role to play in that shift.”