Hospice cuts deprive people of dignity - leaders

Hospice services across North Yorkshire are at risk of cuts and closure as a multimillion-pound funding crisis deepens, charity chiefs have warned.

The stark warning will be presented to North Yorkshire Council's Scrutiny of Health Committee on Friday, with hospice leaders saying redundancies have already been made and further job losses are planned.

In a joint report, they say the financial position has become "unsustainable" while demand for end-of-life care rises and cost-of-living pressures limit donations to their fundraising efforts.

The Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it would continue to talk with hospice leaders about funding.

The concerns have been raised by the chief executives of Saint Michael's Hospice in Harrogate, Herriot Hospice in Hambleton and Richmondshire, St Leonard's Hospice in York and St Catherine's Hospice in Scarborough.

Together, they provide 48 specialist inpatient beds as well as community end-of-life care, outpatient clinics, lymphoedema services, bereavement counselling and family support.

But the hospice leaders say those inpatient beds alone cost about £11.2m a year, while NHS funding amounts to just £4m.

That leaves charities having to find £7.2m through fundraising simply to maintain the beds, before the cost of their other services is taken into account.

Emma Johnson, chief executive of St Leonard's Hospice in York, said up to a few years ago, over 30% of costs were covered by a contribution from the NHS.

"We're now down into the mid to low 20s as a percentage, so what that means is more reliance on the charitable side of our work," she said.

"We're having to ask more and more from our local people who support us in the most incredible ways, but it's not a sustainable position.

"York has got one of the most rapid growing populations of over-85s, and therefore, we know that demand is going to increase.

"But we worry that we're not going to be able to meet that demand because funding is simply not keeping up with the increase in costs."

The hospice chiefs warn that NHS funding has failed to keep pace with rising wages, National Insurance, the National Minimum Wage and other costs.

For 2026/27, the organisations have been offered an inflationary increase of 2.75%, subject to moving from grant agreements to contracts, while their costs are rising by more than 7%.

The report states an additional £744,043 was made available by the Humber and North Yorkshire ICB to hospices across its area, but just £76,876 was initially allocated to the three serving North Yorkshire and York.

Saint Michael's and Herriot received no additional allocation, St Leonard's was allocated £25,357 and St Catherine's £51,519 - but the latter allocation was subsequently withdrawn.

Hospice chiefs say they have received no communication about where the withdrawn money has gone.

They say the organisations are now setting substantial deficit budgets to maintain existing services.

Tony Collins, chief executive of Saint Michael's and Herriot hospices, said that if the number of beds or community-based support was reduced further, patients would need to go onto a waiting list to be admitted.

"Given the type of service we provide, waiting lists are not a good place for a patient to be," he said.

"They'll have to be inappropriately admitted to hospital, for what most hospitals are describing as constant corridor care now.

"They'll be deprived of the dignity and the specialist support that they require.

"At the moment, we're holding that together, but we're holding it based on this voluntary fund-raised income, which is just not correct.

"It's not the right place to be as a society."

Concluding their report, the hospice leaders warn: "Without urgent action, the current position will undermine the stability of hospice care across North Yorkshire and York, with direct consequences for patients, families and the wider health and care system."

A spokesperson for NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB said: "Hospices and their dedicated staff provide deeply valued care to patients and families across Humber and North Yorkshire.

"We have continued to invest in these services and have worked with our six adult hospice providers to address differences in historic NHS funding.

"Our approach to additional core funding has been to move hospice investment towards a more consistent contribution based on the needs of the populations we serve.

"This helps us make fairer decisions across the whole area while recognising the important role of each local hospice.

"We remain in discussion with hospice leaders as we develop our approach to palliative and end-of-life care, taking account of population need, national policy and the resources available."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Hospices provide vital care and support for people and families at the most difficult time in their lives.

"We have backed the sector with the biggest investment in a generation, including £125m to improve hospice facilities.

"We recognise the financial pressures many hospices are facing and are working with the sector and NHS partners to create a more sustainable funding approach, so patients and families can continue to get the care they need."

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