FUNDING pressures facing St Giles Hospice have been raised in a parliamentary debate on palliative care.
Lichfield MP Dave Robertson highlighted the pressures facing the Whittington-based charity – which receives just 18% of its funding from the NHS – in th House of Commons earlier this week.
He shared the story of Sean Collins whose wife Felicity died aged 38 at the hospice in November 2023.
The father-of-two is now backing an Urgent Appeal launched by the charity in a bid to help tackle its funding challenges.
It comes after the hospice was forced to cut inpatient beds from 23 to 15 last year, as well as making staff redundancies due to financial pressures.
Labour MP Mr Robertson said:
“The generous donors to St Giles do so much to care for people that they have never met.
“Having said that though, Government support is essential to make sure hospices across the country continue to do everything that they do for all of our communities.”
While welcoming the recent announcement of £100million additional funding for the hospice sector, Mr Robertson called for long-term sustainable funding solutions for the care they provide.
He told fellow MPs that while the hospice doesn’t seek to be fully NHS-funded, sustainable statutory funding for care is crucial for its future.
The debate, which lasted two hours, concluded with Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler emphasising the need for a long-term funding plan and strategy for the next decade.
Elinor Eustace, chief executive officer of St Giles Hospice, said:
“We welcome Parliament’s focus on the critical issue of hospice funding.
“While we are proud of our deep community connections and the incredible support we receive locally, we need a sustainable funding model that ensures we can continue providing essential end of life care for generations to come.
“We look forward to working with government and healthcare partners to develop long-term solutions that benefit all hospices and the communities they serve.”
