26 Feb 2025 Care

Response to the Government’s funding announcement for Hospices in England

The government has confirmed the release of £25 million for upgrades and refurbishments for hospices across England. The Kirkwood will be able to apply for up to £160,020 in this financial year, with more funds being made available next year. However, the money cannot be spent on day-to-day running costs like paying employee salaries or utility bills and will not help to cover our £1.7m funding shortfall.

The government has confirmed the release of £25 million for upgrades and refurbishments for hospices across England. The Kirkwood will be able to apply for up to £160,020 in this financial year, with more funds being made available next year. However, the money cannot be spent on day-to-day running costs like paying employee salaries or utility bills and will not help to cover our £1.7m funding shortfall.

As part of a new £25m allocation of funding for Hospices in England from the government, The Kirkwood will be able to apply for funding of up to £160,020 from today (Wednesday 26th February). A further £75 million will be available from April.

In a statement, The Government said the funding, ‘will enable hospices to purchase essential new medical equipment, undertake building refurbishments, improve technology, upgrade facilities for patients and families and implement energy efficiency measures.’

Michael Crowther, Chief Executive with The Kirkwood, has welcomed the government’s announcement, but emphasised that the funding won’t help to support our charity’s day-to-day running costs.  

"Today's funding announcement from the government is welcome; it recognises the important role hospices like The Kirkwood play in providing vital palliative and end of life care for patients and families in their local communities. 

"The Kirkwood can apply for up to £160,000 this financial year, and more next year. We have currently identified around £50,000 in the expenditure that might qualify; however, the funding is not guaranteed and is restricted to spending on projects like improving buildings, patient accommodation and equipment rather than helping to fund our day to day running costs. 

Back in January, The Kirkwood announced proposals to make significant cuts to services as we face the worst financial crisis in our almost 40-year history. This is likely to mean cutting back on the range of community and support services we offer across Kirklees, as well as reducing the number of beds in our hospice’s In-Patient Unit. It is also likely we will need to reduce the size of our workforce, with around 33 roles at risk across the charity.

Michael continued: "We expect to make a significant loss this year, following financial pressures in recent years. Next year we will need to reduce our annual deficit by £1.7 million to put our finances back on a sustainable footing. Unfortunately, today's announcement won't help us to close the gap in our finances. 

"Just 25% of our funding comes from the NHS, so we rely on the generosity of the general public to fund the majority of our services. With the cost of providing care for our patients rising rapidly, and the ability of our community to support our vital care being tested like never before, we are urgently asking the government to provide a fairer share of sustainable long-term funding for hospices."

 

You can help us today by writing to your local MP to let them know about the scale of the crisis facing The Kirkwood and ask them to advocate for a fairer share of funding from the govenrment for hospices. It only takes a few minutes and we've put together a handy guide below to make it really simple.

 

Members of The Kirkwood's Nursing team.