Fairer funding for palliative care
We are calling on the Government to commit to providing more sustainable ways of funding for the hospice care sector.
In 2020/21 hospices in the UK supported an estimated 300,000 people in the UK, including people at the end of life, families, carers and bereaved relatives. Yet the way care is funded is unsustainable and unfair.
300,000
Number of people hospices in the UK supported in 2020/21 *
Funding from the government is much lower than what it actually costs to care for people. Hospices get only a third of the funding they need to for palliative and end-of-life care (PEoLC) services from the Government and rely on fundraising and donations to cover the rest.
£597 million =
The amount the hospice sector needs to fundraise in public donations *
But impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis means that the public is not able to give as much as they once did.
As well as this, government funding is not going up with inflation. Budgets are covering less and less of what is needed. Hospices should be able to improve and grow the care they offer, instead they are having to watch every penny.
What’s more, our need for hospices is increasing. Without enough funding, the hospice sector will not be able to meet this rising level of need.
55%
How much the need for palliative care will rise between 2021/22 and 2030/31 *
This way of funding care is dangerous. End of life care is not a luxury. We should all have the chance to die in comfort and with dignity.
How is Sue Ryder campaigning for change?
Emma Vasey, Sue Ryder’s Head of Influencing and Engagement responds to the Autumn Statement in November 2023 and explains what it means for people at the end of their life.
We carried out independent research into the hospice funding crisis and attended Conservative and Labour Party Conferences, calling on MPs to urgently commit to an increase in statutory funding in order to properly #FundHospiceCare.
How can you support this campaign?
Sign our Letter to Government
We need the UK Government to commit to making changes to end-of-life care and bereavement support as a priority.