A funding crisis is hitting Scottish hospices, but Highland Hospice will stop short of turning away patients
Highland Hospice chief executive Kenny Steele has joined other hospice chiefs across Scotland deploring new funding pressures that are threatening some hospices’ ability to take all patients seeking end of life care.
This week he joined 13 other hospice bosses in writing a joint letter to a national newspaper, voicing fears for the future following NHS staff pay hikes, the National Insurance increase from the recent Budget, and the cost of living wputting great pressure on fundraisers ability to afford their considerable cash that is vital to their survival.
Mr Steele told the Inverness Courier: “The reality of the situation is that we now must find an extra £5000,000 annually just to maintain services at their current level.
“Thanks to the generous Highland community we are in the fortunate position of not having to consider cutting services, but we do have plans to develop our services and these ambitions will be dented by increasing costs.”
Mr Steele said that recently launched services such as the 24/7 Palliative Care Helpline and Rapid Response Services have been supporting people to be cared for at home for longer and avoiding the need for hospital admissions.
This has, in turn, been “showing incredibly positive results helping to relieve pressure on hospitals and delivering the care that people want.”
He added: “We desperately need significant reform of hospice funding if we are to play the valuable role that we know we can play in the health and care system.”
The letter highlights that for the first time ever, the cash-strapped hospices risk having to turn people away.
The letter states: “When NHS salaries rise, hospices face the extra costs but aren’t covered by the government pay awards.
“This grossly unfair.”
The hospice heads point out that while they are a key part of the care system they are not part of the NHS but are charities that have to rely on generous donations and fundraising to employ thousands of nurses, doctors physiotherapists, counsellors and support staff.
This year alone salaries have increased 5.5% for NHS clinical and support staff and 10.5% for consultant doctors.
From April National Insurance hikes will alone will add £2.5million to hospices wage bill, and the hospice share of NHS funding is continually declining meaning they are facing “an insurmountable funding gap.
The letter continues: “Hospice care is always free. There is now a risk that, for the first time ever, hospices will have to turn people away.
“Cutting services is the last thing any of us want to do. It would break our hearts. We promise to do everything we can to avoid that, but we also have to balance our books.”
The hospice bosses see the upcoming Scottish budget as a chance to “forge a new course.
“Supporting hospices is not only the right thing to do for patients and families: it is the right thing to do for the health care system,” says the letter. “Hospice care reduces pressure on our overstretched NHS.”
