Following the Autumn 2024 Budget Announcement, which sadly doesn’t include any measures to address the hospice funding crisis, but sees an increase in Employers National Insurance contributions and a rise in the National Living Wage, I wanted to give you an update on the impact of this for us at The Myton Hospices.
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has donated to our Urgent Appeal, expressed concern about the implications of the Budget for Myton or supported us in any other way – without you our vital work wouldn’t be possible and we really do appreciate your support.
So far our Urgent Appeal has raised almost £160,000 of our £240,000 target – that’s enough to fund three of the five nurses we are aiming to secure with this campaign, to ensure more people in Coventry and Warwickshire can access a Hospice Bed.
We have been asked if the Budget will affect the money already raised from our Urgent Appeal and our ability to recruit additional nurses, and whilst it will have a significant impact on our finances, you can rest assured that the money raised from the Appeal will still be used for the purpose it was intended. We have been blown away by the support for our Appeal and are continuing to do everything we can to reach our target.
The increase in National Insurance contributions and the minimum wage will cost us £190,000 next year, at a time when, like all hospices, we are already facing huge financial pressures. This is in addition to the £11 million we need to raise this year to continue providing our services free of charge to our patient and their loved ones.
The NHS will be exempt from paying the increase in employers National Insurance and I will once again be writing to all of our local MPs to call for hospices, as vital healthcare providers to also be exempt from the increase.
I will also be asking then to campaign for long term reform in the way hospices are funded.
Hospices ease pressure on the NHS and mean more people die in their preferred place of death with the expert palliative and end of life care they need and deserve. Hospices also have a huge part to play in moving more care into the community, but without a funding review and with ever-increasing financial burden more hospices will have to make the heart-breaking decision to close services.
We know how fortunate we are to have the backing of our local community and we will continue to focus on finding ways to provide our services to our patients and their families, in the face of ever-growing adversity.
I would urge you to write to your local MP too so they can see just how important this issue is and how far-reaching the concerns are.
Finally, I want to say a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ from all of us at Myton for your continued support. Together we can make a difference.