Hospice facing more demand than ever

A hospice has warned that demand for its services is set to increase by 30% over the next five years and that funding is not growing to match.

Sobell House says at any one time it is supporting 1,439 patients, more than double the 680 people it was supporting just a year ago.

Campaigners have been calling for fairer funding for hospices amid rising costs, increasing demand and widening funding gaps.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said plans were in motion to "modernise and improve the palliative and end-of-life care sector".

Sobell House, which is in its 50th anniversary year, receives NHS funding, with charitable donations helping to fund further services beyond core clinical care.

It has supported more than 5,000 people in the last year.

CEO Amelia Foster told the BBC: "We anticipate that in the next five years, the demand for our services is going to go up by around 30% and this is important because actually the amount of money that we're getting is not going up by around 30%.

"So there's more demand than ever for fundraising activities, for support for our shops as well, because actually that's how we make sure that these services get funded, and that we can be there for people when they need us."

Dr Emily Harrop, medical director at children's hospice Helen & Douglas House, said demand was rising there too.

She said: "We've seen a 14% increase year on year in our caseloads... without any parallel increase in our income, and that is a very difficult gap for us to fill.

"The situation is not sustainable, and my personal message would be that whether you are a baby yet to be born with a life-shortening condition, or an older person in their 90s, you deserve an equitable access to sustainably-funded palliative care wherever you are.

"I'm aware of colleagues in children's and adult hospices who are suddenly losing services, closing beds, and really aware of the impact on people who either currently need palliative care, or know they might do, and are sensing anxiety because there is potentially not a service there."

Linda, from Kennington, whose husband Steve died from a rare brain cancer earlier this year, said Sobell House supported the family for the last two years of his life.

"It was a lifeline, it was a definite lifeline," she said.

"Prior to this, it had just been him and I and our two children and our family struggling, coming to terms with this horrendous, hideous brain cancer."

She added: "It was important at that time, because we had nothing happy to look forward to, so he was happy. It was a life-changing experience for him."

Foster said: "We recognise that we have been supported by our community for 50 years, and I think I would just like to reassure people to say that we will always keep redoubling our efforts if we need to to make sure that we can be here.

"We say that we can't add days to life, but we can add life to days, and that's really important to us, improving people's quality of life."

A DHSC 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."