Latest news with #LeighVallance
BBC News
21-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
North-west of England hospices plea for funding changes
Leaders of eight hospices in Greater Manchester have met MPs in Westminster to call for changes to the way they are said costs had gone up by a third and they had to rely on fundraising from their local communities to provide the extra money Leigh Vallance, chief executive of Bolton Hospice, appealed to the government to "respect the value" of their work and "make a better contribution".The Department of Health and Social Care said it had recently announced the largest investment in hospices in a generation and it was working to make sure the sector was sustainable. Hospices receive between 17 and 30% of their funding from the NHS, depending on their size. The national average is 30%."The rest is raised by local people fundraising jumping out of airplanes and shaving their heads," said Dr Vallance, speaking on behalf of the Greater Manchester Hospices said the sector faced challenges from the increased cost of living, fuel energy hikes, a rise in national insurance and the minimum wage. "My local community raises more than £4m every single year and the NHS contribution is a little over £1m," she said. 'Part of the solution' Hospices provide specialist palliative and end-of-life care for patients as well as pre and post bereavement support for loved ones."It takes a lot of the stress and strain away from patients who are dying," Dr Vallance told BBC Radio December, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced Hospices in England were to receive £100m of government funding over two years to improve end-of-life care and another £26m was going to hospices for children, a continuation of money previously given through a Department of Health and Social Care said it was working to make sure the sector was sustainable and it was determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals into the community through its Plan For Vallance welcomed the grant but said the government should work with hospices if it wanted to realise its goal of moving patients into the community."We're embedded in our communities and we can bring so much more to the table if they fund us properly," she said."We're part of the solution, we're an investment we're not a cost." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'They play a vital part in our healthcare system, but this care is at risk'
Hospices throughout Greater Manchester are in urgent need of extra funding, leaders have urged MPs. Since 2020, operators have seen their total costs increase by a third, with most of this cost having to be met by fundraising from the local community. Now, the Greater Manchester Hospices Provider Collaborative, made up of adult and children's hospices, is requesting MPs sign a joint letter to the Minister of State for Health and Social Care, calling for the government's new 10-year health plan to include commitments to improving palliative and end of life care, and reforming the hospice funding model. READ MORE: Vast shopping centre dominated a town centre for more than 50 years – now it's going to take a year to knock down READ MORE: On her second day at work, she got the call many dread - and hasn't been able to work since More than 10,000 patients, and their loved ones, are cared for by hospices in Greater Manchester each year. In the UK £11.7bn is spent on healthcare for people in the last years of their life, but 80 percent of that funding is spent in hospitals - while hospices are allocated around four per cent. An additional hospice 57 bed spaces are needed in Greater Manchester to meet the current needs of the community according to the Health Innovation Manchester Report. Yet in 2043 there are expected to be 5,000 (21 per cent) more deaths and 3,500 (17.5 per cent) more deaths requiring palliative care each year in Greater Manchester than in 2019. Leigh Vallance, Chief Executive of Bolton Hospice and Chair of GM Hospices Provider Collaborative, said: 'Hospices play a vital part in our healthcare system, but this care is at risk. Increasing demand, long term underinvestment and rising costs, mean many hospices are struggling to maintain their services. This, in turn, places more demands on the NHS. 'The new 10-year health plan provides an opportunity to put this right. Currently £11.7bn is spent on health care for people in the last year of life in the UK, but 80% of that funding is spent in hospitals. We believe this money could be better used by investing in hospice care, which currently only receives 4% of this funding. 'We know from experience that hospice care reduces hospital admissions, speeds up hospital discharges, keeps care in the community and makes it more likely that people can die in the place of their choosing. This is better for the patient, better for their loved ones and better for the NHS.' In Greater Manchester, hospices rely on their local communities to raise two thirds of their total funding. Demands on hospice services are only set to increase and the current funding model means they need to ask more and more of their communities every year - at a time when the cost of living is at an all time high. The Government has made a commitment to invest £100m in additional capital spend in hospices over the next two years, which has been welcomed by Greater Manchester's hospices, but only offers a short term solution. Long term reform is needed to protect hospice services. Today's parliamentary event has been sponsored by Josh Simons MP, Member of Parliament for Makerfield. The GM Hospices Provider Collaborative is a partnership of Greater Manchester's adult and children's hospices, working together to deliver "high-quality, accessible and sustainable specialist palliative care for all who need it." Hospices attending the event in Westminster today were Bolton Hospice, Bury Hospice, Derian House Children's Hospice, Dr Kershaw's Hospice, Springhill Hospice, St Ann's Hospice, Wigan & Leigh Hospice, Willow Wood Hospice. Almost half of deaths in Greater Manchester are in hospitals. Only three percent of people have a preference to die in hospital (Office for National Statistics Voices Survey). In Greater Manchester, one third of people will have more than three admissions to hospital in the last year of life.
