Nottinghamshire Hospice has today announced that it is proposing to make a number of redundancies as the impact of the national hospice funding crisis deepens across the country. The Hospice urgently needs to reduce its financial deficit, which is currently forecast to be over £800,000 next year.

The Hospice funding crisis

Like many other hospices who have already announced similar measures, Nottinghamshire Hospice must act now to protect end-of-life care across the county.

As a charity, it is the people of Nottinghamshire who provide the majority of funding to keep the vital end-of-life services operating. Our supporters are incredibly generous but are also feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. The Hospice do receive some NHS income but have seen this fall in real-terms in recent years.

Coupled with rising costs across the board, the gap between income and expenditure within the sector continues to widen. Staff costs have risen considerably, and make up over £4 out of every £5 spent by Nottinghamshire Hospice.

Alongside the rise in National Minimum Wage, the most recent budget announcement will see National Insurance contributions rise. The impact of these changes will cost the organisation an additional £190,000 next year, meaning 2025/26 will be tougher still.

The government announced a new funding package for hospices before Christmas, which centres on £100m for capital projects such as buildings to be shared between the UK’s 220 Hospices. Whilst any form of financial assistance is welcomed, it does not support hospices to pay staff, which is their main cost.

Protecting our core care

As such, Nottinghamshire Hospice has taken the strategic decision to protect core care – namely their Hospice In Your Home service. This service provides end-of-life care for patients and their families, and means 9 out of 10 of their patients are able to die where they most want to be – within their own home.

However, other staffing areas of the organisation will be impacted to protect this vital service. The current proposals impact 17 members of staff, around 17% of the total workforce.

Chair of Trustees Joanne Brunner said: “We are proud to support over 2,000 patients at end-of-life each year. Our patients, and their families depend on our services at the most difficult time in their lives.

“The challenges facing the entire hospice sector are numerous. Reduced NHS funding, rising costs, and a more challenging fundraising environment mean hospices’ nationwide are faced with difficult choices.

“As the population of the country continues to get older, the demand on our services will increase. 2025 is our 45^th year serving the community of Nottinghamshire, and it is imperative that we have a sustainable organisation that can deliver care for the next 45 years to an increasing number of people. We need to act now to ensure this is the case.

“By taking this action, the hospice can return to a stable financial position without cutting our core service”

Rachel Hucknall, Chief Executive Officer, added: “For our staff who work tirelessly to ensure Nottinghamshire Hospice runs smoothly behind the scenes, this is a challenging time, and we are doing everything we can to support them through this process.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but it is one that has the long-term sustainability of Nottinghamshire Hospice at its heart.

“We know how important the services we offer are to the people of Nottinghamshire, and we want to ensure we come through these challenging times as a sustainable organisation which will continue to deliver support when people need us the most.

“We are hugely grateful for the tremendous support we receive from the local community. If you shop in one of our shops, play our weekly lottery, give us a regular gift or undertake one of our challenges you are helping to pay for patient care. You continue to play a vital role in ensuring we can offer care to our local community.

“As a sector we are proud to support the NHS, and want to do more. We are a critical part of easing pressure on our health and social care system but the current model doesn’t work for hospices. We will continue to work with Hospice UK nationally to lobby for a more sustainable model of long-term hospice funding.”

Nottinghamshire Hospice services will continue throughout this process.