Cancer patient takes hospice funding plea to PM
BBCA man living with stage-four cancer has taken a petition signed by more than 103,000 people to Downing Street, urging the Prime Minister to make hospice funding a national priority.
Steven Cooper received care at The Shakespeare Hospice in Stratford-upon-Avon and The Myton Hospice in Warwick after being told he only had months, and then days to live.
He delivered the petition on Tuesday alongside hospice leaders, politicians and others whose lives have been touched by hospice services.
He said: "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for hospices - they need funding. Hospices can help such a lot and can take the pressure off hospitals".
The petition, which has been backed by more than 103,000 people nationwide, including almost 12,000 in the Midlands, is asking Prime Minister Andy Burnham for sustainable hospice funding to be made a national priority.
According to Hospice UK, three quarters of hospices in England were already running at a deficit as of February this year and nearly six in 10 have either made or are considering cuts to frontline services.
Joining Cooper at Downing Street was Shakespeare Hospice chief executive Tracey Sheridan who warned current funding arrangements were not sustainable.
"The majority of hospices have a statutory income from the NHS that varies, and our main point here is that it is almost a postcode lottery for some of our patients," she said.
"Our ask is simple: a fair and sustainable long-term funding model that ensures everyone can access high-quality hospice care, regardless of where they live."
Cooper was also joined by Stratford-on-Avon MP Dr Manuela Perteghella, hospice supporters Anna Ferrie and Esther Wigmore, as well as MPs from five political parties: Sarah Hall MP for Warrington South, Richard Burgon MP for Leeds East, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP for Gosport, Iqbal Mohamed MP for Sheffield Central and Andrew Rosindell MP for Romford.
Campaign organisers said nearly 300 MPs and peers have backed the appeal.
"This isn't about left or right; it's about right or wrong," said David Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool.
'For some hospices funding may come too late'
Elizabeth Hancock, CEO of Mary Ann Evans Hospice in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, told the BBC that she wants to see "assurance" that funding for hospice care will "see some improvement" after the centre's lymphoedema service closed in January.
Lymphoedema is a condition which causes swelling in the body's tissues, usually in the arms and legs, the NHS says.
"Our financial situation is extremely serious and without significant additional financial support we are going to struggle," Hancock said.
"We have had assurances from our NHS commissioners that they want to offer their full support and they have recently given us some additional funding.
"But for some hospices the funding may come too late".
Cooper delivered the names of supporters, printed across 2,500 sheets of A4 paper, to Downing Street.
"Hospices will help people like me, and lets face it, there are thousands of us," he said.
Cooper told the BBC he is trying to "make the most of everyday" and he is looking forward to watching his son get married at the end of October.
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