[United Kingdom] Hospices on the brink of financial meltdown warn of service cuts and mass redundancies

[United Kingdom] Hospices on the brink of financial meltdown warn of service cuts and mass redundancies 
Daily Express, United Kingdom; by Giles Sheldrick; 7/7/24 
The growing crisis engulfing the hospice sector has led to another major facility closing beds and warning of widespread redundancies. Hospiscare, which helps those with terminal illnesses in Devon, has been forced to change its end-of-life service in response to “insufficient funding and rising costs.” It  is the latest to act on an emergency that is having a major impact on the families it helps. The hospice has already taken drastic steps, including slashing the number of beds on its ward in Exeter. It is now having to change how it delivers part of its at-home care for patients during the last days of their lives, which is likely to result in staff redundancies. ... Most facilities providing end-of-life care are operating in the red and look set to follow suit in a crisis that would flood the NHS. Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said: “We’ve recently seen the worst financial results for the sector in 20 years, with hospices facing a collective deficit of £77million.