Hospice leaders warn hundreds of beds out of use

About 300 hospice inpatient beds are currently closed or out of use in England, hospice leaders have warned.

They say a lack of funding and staff are the primary reasons why some of England's 170 hospices have had to close beds permanently or take them out of use.

Hospice UK, which represents the sector, is now calling for an urgent package of government funding to prevent further cuts. The Department of Health said it was looking at how to financially support hospices to ensure they are sustainable.

Annette Alcock, Hospice UK's director of programmes, said the way that hospices are funded and commissioned by the NHS is "acting as a huge cap on what they can do", while also blaming "underlying pressures like staff shortages".

She added: "If the government can act in both the short and long term to resolve these problems, these figures are clear evidence that hospices can do a lot more for patients, and a lot more for the NHS.

"That's true out in the community too, where most of hospice care is actually delivered.

"With better funding and commissioning, hospices could provide so much more care where people most want it - at home."

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Source: BBC News, 4 December 2024