Fair funding for hospices

With rising costs, an ageing population, and death rates set to increase rapidly in the coming years, the hospice funding model is no longer fit for purpose. Add to this the potential introduction of assisted dying, and there has never been a more crucial time to secure sustainable funding for our sector.

On this page you can find out about our Fair funding for hospices campaign - and how you can get involved to help amplify the voice of our sector.

Why now?

Hospices in England are on the brink. Surging costs have led to many services being cut back – just as demand is rising, fast, because of our ageing population [1]. As it stands, 2 in 5 hospices in England are planning to make cuts [2]. The situation is not sustainable – and time is running out.

With our population ageing, and death rates set to increase rapidly in the coming years [1], the hospice funding model is no longer fit for purpose.

It’s not acceptable that vital palliative care services are reliant on charity – meaning wealthier areas are more likely to be able to fund them, and an estimated one in four people who need specialist palliative care are not getting it [3]. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has himself said he is not comfortable with this model [4].

What’s more, it is likely that an assisted dying service will be introduced in the coming years. While Hospice UK remains neutral on the principle of assisted dying, we are clear that no one should feel they need to choose an assisted death because of a fear of not getting the care they need at end of life. Well-funded hospice care is a critical safeguard if assisted dying is introduced.

For hospices to deliver on the vision in NHS England's Ten-year health plan, they need to be able to expand, not close down their services.

There has never been a more crucial time to call for fair funding for our sector.

What we are asking for

From October onwards, we will be calling for four key reforms to stem the wave of cutbacks to hospice services we have seen in the past two years.

They would open up significantly more community palliative care capacity to underpin the government’s vision for neighbourhood based care – allowing hospices to better meet the growing needs of our ageing population. And they would help guarantee, as a critical safeguard in a future assisted dying service, that good quality palliative care was available for all who need it.

Our strategy is to be deliberately ambitious and long term in our thinking, in order to create momentum, engagement and accountability.

Too often, the state’s contribution to the cost of hospices’ services are through grants which don’t reflect the true cost, and which are based only on historical precedent.
Hospices should be on NHS contracts which are fair, multi-year, have regular reviews and increase in line with rising costs. These should be based on agreed, national cost models. Contracts should be flexible in response to the changing care needs of a local population and meeting rapidly growing demand.
In addition, the government should continue to provide ringfenced additional funding for children’s hospices (formerly known as the Children’s Hospice Grant), over and above local contracts, recognising the large areas covered by these services.

Get involved

We know what a difference it makes when the sector speaks as one. We want our members to support our campaign, to try and secure fair funding for hospices in England.

We will launch these asks publicly in October, via the press and social media. We will update with launch plans in coming weeks. For now, please keep discussion of the campaign and asks to internal channels only, or with your commissioners.

This year's Hospice Care Week is a vital part of the campaign for fair funding. Our theme, hospice care is more than you think, highlights the incredible care that goes on outside of the hospice building.
We’re inviting MPs to attend our Westminster event and hear what their local hospice needs to secure its future, care for more patients, and support the NHS.
You can help by supporting our Write to your MP campaign and using our resources to take part in Hospice Care Week.
Throughout the autumn we will be promoting the Fair funding campaign on social media.
We'll be providing graphics and copy for social media posts. Make sure your comms team are members of our Hospice Communicators Network to make sure they are up-to-date.
You can follow our social media accounts here if you haven't already done so:
We will be placing media stories throughout the Autumn to bring attention to the need for funding reform, such as this article in the Guardian on 12 September.
Our stories are always richer and more impactful when we can involve local hospices. If you would be interested in talking about the specific funding challenges facing your hospice and the need for long-term fundng reform please get in touch with our media team.
We know that our members continue to have important discussions about funding with your local commissioners and politicians. This can have a huge impact locally and nationally.
You might find these resources helpful in your discussions:
- Key facts about hospice care
- Influencing local decision makers
- Look our for a new suite of resources to support discussions about commissioning - this is coming in the autumn.
If you’re engaging with your local politicians and would like support from Hospice UK, please get in touch with our policy team.

Support our activity across the UK

This campaign and related funding asks are specifically for hospices in England. If you are based in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales please get in touch with our policy experts in each area.

Northern Ireland: Aileen Morton, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Hospice UK
Scotland: Helen Malo, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager (Scotland)
Wales: Matt Brindley, Policy and Advocacy Manager (Wales).