Petition launched to block Telford hospice cuts
More than 2,000 people have signed a petition opposing £250,000 cuts to funding at the Severn Hospice.
An online crowdfunding page has also been set up by Julie Ward, who organised the Let's Go Quackers art trail, in the hopes of making up some of the shortfall.
They are responding to a decision by Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group to cut the hospice's funding by 25 per cent, leaving a £250,000 hold in the charity's budget.
Bosses at the hospice have warned that the decision will let down the people the CCG is supposed to serve.
The petition, set up by the Telford & Wrekin Labour group, had been signed by more than 2,200 people by lunchtime today.
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The group said: "The hospice, which has cared for more than 34,000 people since it started, has received notification from clinical commissioners in Telford that their grant will be cut by £250,000 next year.
"We call on the Conservative Government to reverse these cuts and properly support this vital hospice care, for the most vulnerable in their time of need."
Ms Ward raised over £36,000 for Severn Hospice and the Jayne Sargent Foundation through the Let's Go Quackers art trail last year.
Ten giant ducks, decorated by artists in the borough, were scattered throughout Ironbridge in the spring of 2018.
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They later played a role in the Carnival of Telford Giants and were on display throughout central Telford last summer, attracting footfall from across Shropshire and beyond.
She's set up the new crowdfunding campaign in response to the "devastating" cuts.
"This is very disappointing news," she said. "The impact that this will have on local families is heartbreaking.
"I feel that anyone that wants it should have the chance of hospice care for their loved ones here in Telford."
Their comments come after bosses at Severn Hospice said the CCG would be hit by the cost of reducing funding in the long run.
Heather Palin, Severn Hospice chief executive, said: "In stark terms someone who is dying might now face their death somewhere in a hospital rather than in a hospice.
"It will cost the Clinical Commissioning Group considerably more than its grant to us to care for that same patient in Princess Royal Hospital.
"We now have no choice but to close at least two beds in our Telford hospice."
