'Families will pay the price': Terminally ill people face cuts to vital hospice care, warns Shropshire MP
Terminally ill patients are facing cuts to vital hospice care, with services "on the brink", and their families will "pay the price", a Shropshire MP has warned.
Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, is backing a Liberal Democrat campaign to protect local hospice services, warning that many are close to collapse unless ministers take urgent action.
According to figures from Hospice UK, as many as two in five hospices are planning to make cuts this year. Hospice UK said 57 per cent of hospices ended the 2024/25 financial year in deficit, with one in five recording a deficit of more than £1m.
Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said hospices "are on the brink" and cannot keep up with "snowballing" costs. Meanwhile, bosses at Hope House Children's Hospices, based in Shropshire and Powys, have called for the Government to commit to "fair and sustainable" funding.
Earlier this year, a further £1.1 million was allocated to hospices in Shropshire to fund major upgrades and improvements to facilities. More than 170 hospices across England received a share of a £75 million funding package, that followed a £25 million investment in February.
However, Mrs Morgan and her party say spiralling energy and National Insurance costs have led to a bleak outlook for the next financial year, and have cautioned that "time is running out" for hospices across England.
Helen Morgan MP said: "Hospices such as Hope House Children's Hospice provide vital services and support, yet they're facing a really challenging operating environment. Ultimately, if they can no longer provide those services, it's families that pay the price.
"The Government must step in now and answer our calls to protect children's hospice funding, reverse the National Insurance hike that costs hospices £34 million, and make sure funding always matches local need.
"Liberal Democrats are campaigning to save our hospices. No one should face their final days in pain, on a busy hospital ward, or even in isolation because government ministers are asleep at the wheel."
The North Shropshire MP recently ran the Oswestry 10k in aid of Hope House, raising £1,200 for the charity.
As part of the campaign, Liberal Democrat care spokesperson Alison Bennett will this week table a Bill in Parliament aimed at protecting hospice services from further cuts.
Andy Goldsmith, Hope House chief executive, said: "Hope House Children's Hospices welcomes the support of our local MP Helen Morgan who is a great champion for hospice care.
"We rely on the incredible generosity of our local community, who founded and have sustained our hospice care for the last 30 years, and we are calling on both the UK and Welsh Governments to partner with us and the local community and commit to fair and sustainable hospice funding so that we can help every local child with a life-threatening condition live their best life."
