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Act now to save your local hospice

As the new government gets to work, hospices are in crisis. Costs are rising, funding has stalled, demand for care is growing. Now services are being cut. Your voice matters, take action today:

Write to your new MP to let them know about the crisis

Hospices are facing intense financial pressure. As costs have surged, local communities are doing their best to step up, but this isn’t enough.

The modest amounts of state funding that hospices receive have not kept pace. And now the state of the hospice sector’s finances is the worst it’s been for 20 years.

With hundreds of new MPs and a new government in place, we’re urging you and other hospice supporters like you to write to their new MP to show them how much hospice care matters. The new government must understand that something needs to change.

Email your MP now. You can find the email address for your MP here. We’ve written the message for you. All you need to do is copy and paste it into a new email, add your details and press send. This simple action could make all the difference to the future of Prospect Hospice, and others like us across England.

Dear (insert name of your local MP),

I’m a supporter of Prospect Hospice, a charity delivering essential end-of-life care to local people in Swindon, Marlborough, and northeast Wiltshire. I am deeply concerned to hear that, like hospices across England, the vital services they provide are under threat because their income is not rising in line with the growing need for their services locally.

A reality without hospices is unthinkable, but the future of Prospect Hospice is more uncertain than ever. Hospice UK’s new research finds at least 20% of UK hospices have already cut services in the last year or are planning to.

It’s incredibly frustrating to see hospice care suffer due to a lack of funding. Prospect Hospice had to reduce the number of beds in its inpatient unit to six, despite having room for 12. This decision isn’t enough, as it still faces a £1 million deficit. The need for its palliative and end-of-life care is growing, while funding is dwindling, creating an unsustainable situation.

Reduced hospice services mean tough decisions about who qualifies for care, potentially leaving more people without the specialised support they deserve. Families might struggle to manage a loved one’s pain at home, and patients could miss out on emotional support during their final days. The knock-on effect on already overstretched NHS services would be catastrophic, depriving people of the chance for a good death, surrounded by loved ones in their chosen environment. 

I’m joining Hospice UK’s call on the public to write to you, highlighting the critical financial situation of hospices and urging the new government for support.

Many thanks for your support with this important matter,

 

(insert your postcode)

More about the hospice crisis as featured in The Guardian newspaper, with our CEO Jeremy Lune.

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