Devon hospice may axe services due to £2.5m funding gap

Martin Cordy, Hospiscare's director of finance, said the organisation "will have to make cuts from April"

A hospice charity says a £2.5m funding gap could force it to cut services.

Martin Cordy, Hospiscare's director of finance, said the Devon organisation "will have to make cuts from April".

It has blamed rising costs and "an unfair allowance" from NHS Devon, and said it was "short funded compared to the other south west hospices".

NHS Devon said it expected a £40m deficit for the second year running and is "having to take difficult decisions on spending".

Hospiscare provides specialist care to patients and their families living with life-limiting illnesses across Exeter, Mid and East Devon and North Dartmoor.

'High level of care'

Mr Cordy said cuts "could include reducing the number of beds that we provide here at our hospice, or reducing the community nursing service provision that we have".

He said: "We raise an incredible amount of money through our local community. Our fundraisers and volunteers do a great job of raising money through various events and kind donations.

"However, we do get about a fifth of our funding directly through the NHS, and we need to increase that by about double to bring us on to an equitable footing."

A spokesperson for NHS Devon said: "Each year, we provide financial support, in the form of grant funding, to the four adult hospices in Devon that operate inpatient beds.

They said they "recognises the high level of care hospice teams across the county provide".

They added: "The NHS in Devon faces severe financial challenges. This year, for the second year running, we are forecasting a deficit of more than £40m, and we are having to take difficult decisions on spending.

"However, we are keen to keep working closely with our hospices to explore funding issues."

NHS England declined to comment.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "The level of hospice funding hasn't been cut by central government.

"It is decided on an individual basis by integrated care boards depending on local agreements, and it varies across different areas.

"We have made over £400m available to hospices since 2020 to secure and increase additional NHS capacity and enable hospital discharge, ensuring hospices can continue to deliver care to those who need it."