Three months to the day since launching our Urgent Appeal to raise £240,000 to fund the recruitment, training and salary of five registered nurses for a year, we are thrilled to announce that our amazing supporters have raised an incredible £269,943 for Myton!
Ruth Freeman, Chief Executive Officer at The Myton Hospices, said:
We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has made a donation and shown their support for our Urgent Appeal, we have been absolutely blown away by the response.
We strongly believe that every person who needs a Hospice Bed should have access to one and that no one who is at the end of their life should be on a waiting list.
With the money raised, we can recruit five more nurses to ensure more people in Coventry and Warwickshire can access a Hospice Bed, and receive the palliative and end of life care they desperately need and deserve.
The appeal was launched in response to spiralling costs and increased demand...
We are a charity and just 20% of our costs are covered by statutory funding. With annual running costs at an all-time high of £14.3 million, we need to raise over £11 million every year to continue providing our services free of charge to patients and their loved ones.
Since we launched our Urgent Appeal the Budget Announcement saw an increase in National Insurance contributions and the minimum wage which will cost us an additional £190,000 next year unless the Government offers exemption or emergency support for hospices.
The Assisted Dying debate has also seen many people advocate for equitable access to hospice care and the campaign for long term reform in the way hospices are funded, so that everyone at the end of their life can access specialist palliative care, continues.
Ruth adds:
At a time when many hospices are heartbreakingly having to close services, we are finding ways to open more beds, we know how fortunate we are to have exceeded our Urgent Appeal target thanks to our incredible supporters.
Support like this makes us even more determined to work as hard as possible to ensure Myton’s future for the people of Coventry and Warwickshire. I have faith that with Myton’s amazing team of staff and volunteers and the support of our local community we will win the fight to keep services open and support more people who need us.
Despite the increasing challenges our commitment to providing the very best palliative and end of life care has not wavered and this will remain our focus in 2025.
Current Myton patient, Janine Coles, aged just 36 years old, was interviewed on BBC News as part of the appeal launch, she said:
Knowing Myton has five nurses funded for a year from donations from amazing people is the best news! I have a huge smile on my face - their generosity is truly appreciated!
Everyone at The Myton Hospices would like to say a huge thank you to all who have donated to the Urgent Appeal, and Giving Tuesday campaign, our vital work wouldn’t be possible without your support!
