Hospice facing 'worst financial crisis in 35 years'

A hospice has said it faces closure in the next 18 months if it cannot overcome what it says is its worst financial crisis in 35 years.

Queenscourt Hospice, in Southport, Merseyside, currently spends £7.5m annually, but has revealed its income is only £5.5m, and that it will have to cut services unless additional funding is found.

Since it opened its doors in 1991, it has helped more than 70,000 patients and families across West Lancashire, Formby and Southport. However, the hospice said annual government funding had not risen with inflation.

The BBC has approached the government for comment but a spokesperson previously said it had made "the biggest investment in hospices in a generation".

The hospice said the rising costs of salaries, employee National Insurance and the increase in energy bills has meant its financial position is "untenable".

It added it had been "relying heavily" on community support.

"The £2m deficit means we won't be able to continue to deliver the services we do," said Dr Clare Finnegan, medical director of Queenscourt Hospice.

"At the moment, we have 10 patient beds and it is likely that will go down to five beds," she said.

"We are still having conversations with our local trust to see if there is any emergency funding we can access, but if we are to provide these services on a long term basis we need a commitment to long term funding."

The hospice has been promised increased funding by the two Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) it works across, but Dr Finnegan said it "isn't coming quickly enough".

"The timescale for that is within the next three to five years, and that is time we just don't have.

"If we don't reduce our spending this year, we are looking at closing all our services within 18 months and that's a position that none of us want to be in."

Victoria Bassett is currently trying to fundraise for the hospice, which provided her late husband Richard with end of life care after he was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer.

"The care here was just phenomenal," she said.

"It's no disrespect to the hospital, but Richard's symptoms were managed so much more effectively here.

"His pain was under control, he was much more at ease, and I was much more at ease."

She said she was "immensely grateful" because she believed the care offered by the hospice staff prolonged his life by an extra month.

"We had our daughter's fourth birthday party here and so Richard got to celebrate her and be with our family.

"That is a memory which will stay with us forever and means so much," she said.

Queenscourt Hospice has since relaunched its Keep Queenscourt in Service campaign to raise the funds to keep the doors open.

Previously, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Hospices do incredible work to support people and families when they need it most and are facing incredibly tough pressures.

"This government has made the biggest investment in hospices in a generation – £125m – to improve hospice facilities, freeing other funding for patient care, and has also committed £80m for children's and young people's hospices over three years."

They added: "We will soon set out our plans to modernise and improve the palliative and end of life care sector, as we shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, with hospices playing a central role in delivering care closer to home."

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