ITV’s ‘Tonight’ programme, aired on Thursday 28th November, highlighted the escalating challenges facing hospices across the UK. Journalist Daniel Hewitt, in ‘Keeping Care Alive: Hospices in Crisis?’ looked into how the current funding crisis is affecting the people who need hospice support the most.
Here at The Myton Hospices, we would like to echo some of the points raised during the programme and show our support for Daniel, St Giles Hospice and all those who bravely shared their stories to help raise awareness of the current situation around palliative and end of life care services.
The programme stated that one in five hospices in Britain have had to cut services due to the worst funding crisis in decades...
With over 300,000 people across the country receiving free palliative care, the question this show set to answer is whether the shortfall in funding is failing those who need it most. And tragically, in our view, the answer to this question is a resounding yes.
At Myton, we share the programme’s sentiment that hospices are so much more than places where people go to die, but somewhere they can live with dignity, compassion and support.
We care for people right from the point of being given a terminal diagnosis, offering services such as symptom management, Advance Care Planning and our Wellbeing services.
These services often begin months or even years before they receive end of life care, focusing on improving quality of life for them and their family so they can spend precious time together for as long as they have left.
Dr Rachel Clarke, a palliative care doctor featured in the programme, highlighted that palliative care goes far beyond medical intervention – it is about showing patients they matter. At Myton, we echo this ethos, providing holistic care that addresses not just physical, but also psychological, emotional and spiritual needs. We see the person not the illness, we ask what is important to them, we listen and we do all that we can to fulfil their wishes.
During the programme, Daniel opened up about his own experiences with hospices and palliative and end of life care, sharing his mum’s breast cancer diagnosis and the support she received from St Giles Hospice in her last few days.
His mum’s wish was to die at home with her loved ones by her side, and St Giles’ hospice at home service made this possible so that she could die with dignity and was as comfortable as possible. At The Myton Hospices, our Hospice at Home service similarly enables patients to die at home if they choose to, with them and those they love supported.
A significant misconception discussed in the programme is that hospices are fully funded by the NHS... In reality, only one third of hospice funding across Britain comes from the NHS.
At Myton, this figure is even lower at just 20%, requiring us to raise over £11 million each year to continue providing our existing services free of charge to our patients and their loved ones.
With costs already at an all-time high and the recent Budget Announcement, the current funding model simply isn’t sustainable. Statistics from Hospice UK reveal that 70% of hospices are already in deficit this financial year, with many reducing their services or making redundancies.
In the programme St Giles Hospice shared that they aren’t able to open all of their Hospice Beds, preventing them from providing care to those who need it most.
At Myton, demand for our Inpatient Units has increased by 11% in the last 12 months, and too many people are dying on the waiting list for this vital service.
As the only provider of Hospice Beds in Coventry and Warwickshire, we are well aware of the need for more beds but are restricted by funding.
It is for this reason that we recently launched our Urgent Appeal to raise £240,000 to fund the recruitment, training and salary of five registered nurses for a year to ensure more people can access a Hospice Bed.
We have been blown away by the support we’ve received so far – thank you to each and every one of you who has donated – we know how fortunate we are to have your backing.
The programme also discussed the inequities in hospice funding, often described as a postcode lottery. Communities in less affluent areas struggle to generate the voluntary income required to sustain services, leaving many without access to adequate care. The geographical disparity is unfair, and we continue to campaign for a funding reform to ensure equitable access for all through discussions with our local MPs.
We are really grateful to everyone involved in the programme for raising awareness of the issues facing hospices, demonstrating why hospice care is so important and highlighting the devastating impact for patients and families who aren’t getting the palliative and end of life care they need and deserve. This makes us all the more determined to win the fight to keep our services open and find ways to support more people who need us.
Despite the immense challenges our commitment to providing the very best palliative and end of life care has not wavered and this will remain our focus. We are confident that together we can make a difference.
Did you see the programme? We would love to hear your thoughts...
Watch the full documentary on ITVX
Latest News...
