Home News The Kirkwood is set to reduce services amid worst financial crisis in 40 years

30 Jan 2025 Care

The Kirkwood is set to reduce services amid worst financial crisis in 40 years

The Kirkwood has today announced we are proposing to make significant cuts to services as we face the worst financial crisis in its almost 40-year history. With the hospice facing significant losses this year, we need to reduce our annual costs by £1.7 million to ensure our long-term future.

With the hospice sector in financial crisis across the country, The Kirkwood, which provides palliative and end of life care for people living in Kirklees, is facing a number of significant challenges. With more and more demand for our services than ever, the cost of caring for patients and families has skyrocketed over the past few years.

Huge increases in the price of essential items such as medicines, equipment, energy and even food have had a major impact on our finances. With staff salaries making up the majority of our £11m annual costs, salary pressures due to inflation, the rise in the National Living Wage over the past three years, and the upcoming National Insurance rise for employers have also pushed up the cost of paying a fair wage to our dedicated staff.

Just 25 percent of The Kirkwood’s funding comes from the NHS, and we rely on the generosity of the general public to fund the majority of our services. But the ongoing cost-of-living crisis has also had a huge impact on supporters’ ability to donate, volunteer and support the hospice’s fundraising campaigns.

We expect to make a significant loss this year, with total losses amounting to £4 million in the past three years. With dwindling reserves too, we need to reduce our costs by £1.7 million per year in a bid to put our finances back on a secure footing.

As part of the proposed changes, The Kirkwood is looking at cutting back on the range of community and support services we offer across Kirklees, as well as potentially reducing the number of beds in the hospice’s In-Patient Unit.

It is also likely we will need to shrink the size of our workforce in line with these service cuts, with around 33 roles at risk across the charity. The Kirkwood currently employs 254 staff, supplemented by a group of bank workers.

Michael Crowther, The Kirkwood’s Chief Executive, said: “This is an incredibly challenging time for The Kirkwood. Our ability to offer care for the people of Kirklees is being tested like never before. We are devastated to have to make this announcement, but like so many other hospices, we are facing a financial crisis that puts at risk the very services we have fought so hard to build and maintain.”

 

 

The Kirkwood plays an important role in the local healthcare system, offering compassionate, expert care for people affected by life limiting illness – like cancer, heart failure, motor neurone disease and chronic lung conditions – and helping to reduce the burden on overstretched NHS services.

“Demand for hospice services is increasing year on year. We’re now supporting patients with more complex needs, and we’re caring for people for longer too.

“We’ve been working hard for the past few years to bridge the gap between our costs and the money we are able to bring in, but despite our best efforts, we simply haven’t been able to raise enough funds to keep up with the ever-rising cost of providing care. We’ve been relying on reserves to plug the hole in our finances, but we can no longer afford to do this.

“If we don’t do something urgently, it will become almost impossible for us to cope with any more unexpected financial pressures, and that puts the very future of our charity at risk.

“We know how difficult this message will be for the patients and families currently in our care, as well as for people across our community who may rely on us in the future. We are currently considering how our services will need to change, and as soon as we know more, we will inform our patients and families.

“We will do everything we can to minimise the impact of any changes we make.”

Over the past few months, we have been working with Hospice UK and other hospices across the country to seek support with the financial challenges being faced across the sector, but the government’s recent announcement of £100 million in additional funding for hospices is restricted to capital spend, meaning none of the funds can be used to support day to day running costs.

Despite positive conversations with both local and regional NHS commissioners, they are currently unable to offer any additional support. Following these setbacks, we must take decisive action now to protect the future of our charity.

Michael said: “We have explored every possible way to avoid getting to this position, including lobbying our NHS partners and the government for increased funding to help with our running costs, introducing cost saving measures and trying to find new sources of income.

“Unfortunately, the scale of the funding crisis now means we have to take some really difficult decisions to ensure The Kirkwood survives and is here for those in need for the next 40 years and beyond.”

Although we are not planning to close any of our core clinical services, the proposed changes will impact every area of the charity and will mean a reduced range of services in the future.

Michael said: “We currently support over 2,000 patients and their loved ones each year. But given the situation we are now in, it simply won’t be possible to maintain our full range of services and, sadly, we anticipate the number of people we are able to support will have to reduce to around 1,200.

“Cuts to our services will likely mean job cuts too. Sadly, we just cannot see a way to reduce our costs by £1.7 million each year without reducing our paid workforce. The prospect of having to make any of our highly skilled and dedicated colleagues redundant is devastating. It’s not something we ever thought we would have to do.

“This has been the single hardest decision we have ever had to make, but quite simply, we have to make it now to ensure the long-term survival of our vital local charity.”

“We know just how difficult this is for our colleagues, who go above and beyond every single day to provide the very best care for the patients and families in our care. We will do everything we can to support our colleagues during this tough time.

Lorraine Chapman, The Kirkwood’s Chair of Trustees, said: “The ambition of our founders was to create a hospice which provides the very best care for people as they approach the end of their lives; care which prioritises their individual needs, and when the times comes, supports them to die well.

“Although we may need to cut back on the range of services we offer, we will continue to live up to that vision and never compromise the quality of care we do provide for the people of Kirklees.

“Our priority right now is to make sure The Kirkwood will be here to support those in need, both now in the future. Once we are confident that the future of our services is secure, we are determined to find new and innovative ways to help more people in need once again. It is what our founders would expect and the very least the people of Kirklees deserve.”

During this difficult time, we need your help more than ever.

Lorraine said: “The Kirkwood relies on a vast movement of people to make sure our services are available for those who need them. Right now, we need your support more than ever.

“Whether you’re already supporting us or you’d like to help make a difference right now, please consider becoming a regular donor, making a one off donation, offering a little bit of your free time as a volunteer or writing to your local MP to call for greater support for hospices.”

To make a one off or regular donation to The Kirkwood to help us secure our future, click here.

You can find our more about today's announcement by clicking here.

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