Yorkshire’s hospices do incredible work, they must not be left at the mercy of donations

Yorkshire in particular is lucky to be home to several great hospices doing vital work in helping those requiring end of life care and their families.

Only families who have had direct contact with hospices are really able to understand the positive impact they have on their lives at what is often the most testing of times.

Not only do they help make the final days of the patient more bearable but also ensure that bereaved families receive invaluable support. Support that can prevent them from spiralling into depression.

These places require a special kind of person, who not only is able to provide care but is also able to do so with huge levels of empathy.

It is therefore a given that hospices have to match NHS pay levels and work conditions in order to attract the best nurses and healthcare workers to the sector. That is why it is a concern that so many are at the mercy of philanthropy and that the sector faces a funding crisis.

Research shows hospices in the UK collectively face an estimated deficit of £77m for the financial year 2023-24. A significant rise in the need for palliative and end of life care over the next 20 years is being predicted thanks to an ageing population. With this come multiple, complex care needs.

We need to contemplate the kind of society we want to live in as philanthropy can only do so much. Everyone deserves a dignified end of life.

As Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, says “the fiscal environment is incredibly tight” but that shouldn’t deter the government from the responsibility of funding hospices.