The chief executive of Prospect Hospice has warned that end-of-life care in Swindon and north-east Wiltshire is under growing strain, with the charity unable to open all of its inpatient beds due to funding pressures.
CEO Jeremy Lune said rising demand, increasing costs and a decade of flat government funding have left the hospice struggling to meet local need.
“Fundamentally, the need for hospice services is going up by the day, almost,” he said. “The pressure that the NHS is under is enormous due to that, the cost of running hospices has gone up, but the funding model from the government has stayed flat for the last 10 years. So in real terms, it’s declined significantly.”
The hospice has space for 14 inpatient beds at its Wroughton unit. Ideally, 10 would be in operation to serve the area.
“At the moment, we can only afford to have six open,” Mr Lune said. “And we are, to use brutal language, having to turn patients away.”
He said an extra £350,000 each year in government funding would allow two further beds to open immediately. A rise to £500,000 annually would enable four more beds to reopen, bringing the total to 10.
Mr Lune said the impact is being felt elsewhere in the health system.
“We hear stories pretty much every week of people who are dying that are transferred to Great Western Hospital and are literally in the corridors. And that is wrong. It’s fundamentally wrong,” he said.
“There’s no dignity to spending your last days in a corridor in a hospital. They could be here in a bed in Prospect Hospice with their family and friends, in a peaceful, serene surrounding.”
Prospect Hospice operates as an independent charity. Around 18% of its income comes from government sources, a share Mr Lune said has fallen in real terms.
He said while capital grants have been made available nationally, they cannot be used to fund frontline staff.
The hospice has received capital funding, but much of it has been spent on urgent repairs. This included replacing a failed heating system at a cost of £300,000 and fixing roof damage following storm Claudia, estimated at £170,000.
“That is just fixing those immediate problems. It doesn’t pay for any of the staffing,” he said.
The hospice employs specialist nurses, doctors and care assistants. Unlike NHS staff, their pay is not automatically linked to annual Agenda for Change increases.
“Our funding doesn’t reflect that, so we struggle to match the pay that their peers and colleagues in the NHS will receive,” Mr Lune said.
“They’ve stuck with us through loyalty. But how much longer can that go on for?”
He said there is cross-party support locally, including from Swindon’s MPs, but warned that national reform has been slow.
“The funding model has got to change,” he said.
Mr Lune also pointed to regional differences in statutory funding, with some London hospices receiving up to half of their income from government sources.
Palliative and end-of-life care has been recognised within the government’s ten-year NHS plan framework. However, Mr Lune said financial backing must match policy ambition.
“We could make a difference tomorrow,” he said. “We’re not looking for a bottomless pit, but we need some funding to reflect the work that we’re doing.”
Founded in 1980, Prospect Hospice now provides inpatient, community and bereavement support services across Swindon, Marlborough and north-east Wiltshire. Care is delivered free of charge, with most income raised through donations, fundraising and charity shops.
Mr Lune said the hospice remains committed to its community, but warned that without change, further difficult decisions may be unavoidable.
“We’re committed to doing what my colleagues do brilliantly for the benefit of more people,” he said. “We just need some funding to reflect that.”
