'We want fair government funding for hospices'

"If it weren't for this place, I don't know what I'd have done."

Brian Bowns is one of hundreds of people taking classes, learning and making new friends at St Luke's Hospice in Sheffield.

It's a place determined to show people that a terminal diagnosis doesn't have to be the end they imagine.

But without better government funding, hospices in Yorkshire say they may have to close.

The association Hospice UK is putting pressure on the government ahead of this year's Budget. It says 60% of hospices in England have made, or are considering, cuts to front-line services.

Last week, hospices in North Yorkshire warned that their financial position was becoming "unsustainable".

They are charities, and rely on donations from supporters for up to 70% of their operating costs. NHS funding covers the rest, though this varies between areas.

Bowns spent the first part of his working life as a bus driver, then switched careers to become a carer.

Now he is the one being cared for at St Luke's.

"I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis on both lungs.

"I was staying in my flat just looking out of the window, on a downer. I wouldn't eat or drink."

It wasn't until a nurse at the Northern General Hospital suggested the hospice that he reluctantly gave it a go.

"I thought well, where's St Luke's? I'd never heard of it.

"The first day I came I felt uplifted. Now I can't keep away - it's changed my life completely."

He now regularly takes part in art classes at the hospice.

St Luke's does not just offer medical and palliative care to patients - it also runs activities and encourages social connections.

Bowns agrees that not many people realise that there is very little government support for hospices.

"It's terrible because we've got volunteers, they take time out of their lives. We're not asking for vast amounts, we're just asking for money to keep these places running."

It's Jo Lenton's job to do just that. She is chief executive and chief nurse at St Luke's, having started out as a nurse 20 years ago.

"Over the last two years we've found that a lot of hospices across the country have had to reduce clinical services, cutting beds."

As we walk down the corridor of the palliative care unit she tells me most people are shocked when they realise how little government money they get, compared to other health services.

"Our running costs are over £15m a year. We get about a quarter of the funding from the government. The rest we have to rely on the people of Sheffield for."

Jo says without £11m being raised by people in Sheffield, they would not be able to run any of the their services.

"The demand for palliative care is increasing as people are living longer.

"Hospice funding is very inequitable. My plea to the government is, please do support hospices."

Hospice UK has a four-point plan it is putting to the government.

That includes specialist palliative care to be fully funded with proper NHS contracts for hospices, funding for hospice staff to get the pay rises that NHS staff do and also national accountability for the provision of end-of-life care.

For Sam Kyeremateng, the medical director at St Luke's, hospice funding is currently too piecemeal. He is also a trustee of Hospice UK.

"We'd really love the government to get behind the plan. There's almost a risk that you can take for granted what's there.

"Very few people understand that only a quarter of our core funding comes from the NHS.

"Each year we have to raise £11m just to keep our doors open."

He points out that there is no other part of care, during someone's life, that has to be paid for by people running marathons. And he should know, because he's just finished an ultra-marathon for St Luke's.

"Words are nice but we really need action. It isn't sustainable."

In July 2025 the hospice sector did receive £75m of government cash towards modernisation, upgrades and adaptations, but the funding did not cover running or staffing costs.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Hospices do incredible work to support people and families when they need it most and are facing incredibly tough pressures.

"The Prime Minister and Secretary of State have made clear their commitment to improving palliative care, including through our new upcoming framework to modernise and improve the palliative and end-of-life care sector and tackle the variation across the country, which follows the government's biggest investment in hospices in a generation.

"Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services, and the rest through other independent fund-raising means.

"This gives them the freedom to raise money and provide a wider range of services."

Brian Bowns is one who hopes politicians listen, as he prepares to finish his art class before going bowling with hospice friends.

"If hadn't have come up that day, I dread to think what would have happened to me because I was that low at times."

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