'Unwavering' support helps hospices avoid cuts

The CEO of a hospice group has said "unwavering support" from the local community has allowed it to avoid cuts in 2025.

Ruth Freeman, from the Myton Hospices in Warwickshire, said 2025 had been a "challenging" year, with hospices all over the country fighting to find enough funding.

Despite this she said: "We've been overwhelmed by the generosity of people and organisations across Coventry and Warwickshire, with record-breaking fundraising events."

"Without it, we might have faced the same difficult choices as so many of our hospice colleagues."

Ms Freeman marked 10 years in the job this month and in that decade has seen rising demand, increasing operating costs and less funding available.

"Sadly this year we've seen many hospices across the country forced to cut vital services," she said.

When she started in 2015, the three hospices in the group needed £8m to fund their work.

By 2025 that had almost doubled to £15.3m, with £12.7m of that raised through its own efforts and just 17% coming from the NHS.

The hospices have helped almost 13,000 people in those 10 years, with about 2,000 in 2025 alone.

Despite the financial challenges, Ms Freeman said she would look for more funding to add another 11 inpatient beds, taking the capacity to 36.

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