Industry leaders battle 'sleepless nights' over finance struggles, hospice chief says

Some top executives at UK hospices are facing ‘sleepless nights’ amid the industry’s ongoing financial battles, the chief executive of Thames Hospice has said.

In a wide-ranging interview, Dr Rachael de Caux said there was a ‘huge amount of worry’ for industry leaders, with some making ‘extraordinarily difficult’ decisions.

Thames Hospice was in a ‘sustainable position’, she said, but smaller end-of-life care providers were closing patient beds and making redundancies to balance the books.

Thames Hospice, a charity, provides end-of-life care to thousands of people every year, but must fund around two-thirds of its more than £20.5million annual operating costs.

Dr de Caux was appointed Thames Hospice CEO one year ago

It needs £39,000 a day to provide nursing support to patients, bereavement counselling, among its many services. Around one third of its financing comes from central Government.

Dr de Caux said there was significant concern among hospice executives regarding monetary pressures.

“We're a medium to large size hospice, in terms of the number of beds we have and the population we serve,” she said.

“There are a number of much smaller hospices, that are not in a sustainable position like us, that I think will look ahead when they start budget setting for next year and really wonder how on earth are they going to deliver their current services.”

In September, Hospice UK – an organisation lobbying on behalf of hospices across the country – said two in five hospices were considering making cuts due to rising costs.

Asked whether some hospice bosses would be ‘having sleepless nights’ about finances, Dr de Caux said ‘yes’.

She added: “Other hospices, when they have had to make cuts to their services, that means they've had to make redundancies.

“Those staff are like family to many, particularly small hospices.

“It's extraordinarily difficult, the decisions that they're having to make.”

Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock launched the Palliative and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework at the Hospice UK conference in late November.

The framework, set to be published in the spring, is a Government plan to overhaul the way end-of-life care is commissioned – and to improve the quality and accessibility of it.

“Now, hospices are a key part of the wider palliative care and end-of-life care ecosystem,” Mr Kinnock told the conference.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said hospices were facing ‘incredibly tough pressures’.

The spokesperson said: “Hospices do incredible work to support people and families when they need it most, and we recognise the incredibly tough pressures they are facing.

“This Government made the biggest investment in hospices in a generation - £100 million – to improve hospice facilities and has committed to £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices over three years.

“This week, we set out how we will transform palliative and end of life care nationwide – ending the postcode lottery and ensuring every patient and family receives the quality care and support they deserve.”