Hospice 'routinely' budgeting for annual deficits

St Luke's Hospice in Sheffield says it is facing financial challenges

A South Yorkshire hospice which offers end-of-life care has said it was "routinely" budgeting for annual deficits.

St Luke's Hospice in Sheffield said it expected demand on its services would continue to grow due to an ageing population.

In a quality report to Sheffield City Council's health scrutiny sub-committee, the charity said this would put sustained pressure on resources.

The Department of Health and Social Care previously told the BBC it had made over £350m available to hospices since 2020.

St Luke’s Hospice provides palliative and end-of-life care, both at the hospice and in the community, and supports bereaved families.

The charity said it would continue to expand its services despite financial challenges and hoped to increase its reach in underserved communities.

NHS funding accounts for 26% of the £12m annual budget for the hospice, which is based in Little Common Lane, Whirlow. 

The remaining £9m came through fundraising, the Local Democracy Service reports.

'High-quality services'

Peter Hartland, the charity's chief executive, said in the report: "There has been significant national discussion regarding hospice funding, including a Commons debate, but there is no sign of a positive outcome and many hospices are now seeing a real and sustained funding threat to their continued operation.

"The result is that St Luke’s, like many other hospices, is now routinely budgeting for annual deficits."

Despite the financial challenges, St Luke’s said priorities in the coming year included implementing a new patient safety system used by the NHS.

The report, which will be discussed on Thursday, stated that this would support a "no-blame" culture when reviewing and responding to incidents.

The report stated: "St Luke’s will continue to deliver its current range of high-quality services, and will seek to expand upon these as resources allow."

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