"Hospices in England are cutting hundreds of beds and staff because of a funding crisis, despite a sharp rise in demand for palliative care, a damning report warns. People needing end of life care faced a postcode lottery because access to services was so patchy, the National Audit Office (NAO) reported. A lack of government oversight meant ministers were unaware of how reliant they were on independent hospices, its 52-page report found."
"Overall expenditure was 78m more than income generated. As a result, services have been slashed and hospices forced to cut the number of beds available for dying people and those with life-limiting conditions. At the end of 2024, about 300 inpatient beds were deregistered or withdrawn from operation, the report found, though some could have been because of a preference for being cared for at home."
"In 2023-24, about 29% of income for hospices came from the government. Most of their income was generated from charitable sources, such as charity shops and donations, the NAO reported. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England had no idea how reliant they are on the sector because they did not know what proportion of palliative care in England was provided by the independent hospice sector."
Hospices in England are cutting hundreds of beds and staff because of a funding crisis while demand for palliative and end-of-life care rises. Nearly two-thirds of independent hospices in England ran deficits in 2023-24, with overall expenditure £78m more than income generated. Around 300 inpatient beds were deregistered or withdrawn by the end of 2024, and staff numbers have been reduced. Funding is uneven and heavily reliant on charitable income; about 29% of hospice income came from the government in 2023-24. Distribution of hospices varies across England, and national health bodies lack data on the sector’s contribution to palliative care.
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