St Gemma’s Hospice is pleased to receive support through the Government’s £100 million capital funding programme for hospices in England, part of a wider package announced in 2024 to help improve hospice environments and infrastructure.
The latest tranche of this funding has just been made available, with around £675,000 earmarked for St Gemma’s to access, subject to evidencing eligible capital spend. This is a very welcome opportunity to accelerate some of our existing capital plans, including improvements to both our buildings and digital infrastructure. These upgrades will help us continue to modernise and improve efficiency. They will also support the ongoing delivery of specialist care in a safe, comfortable and dignified environment for patients and families during life’s most difficult moments.
We are incredibly grateful for this investment, which recognises the vital role hospices play in the wider healthcare system. It will make a real and lasting difference to the people we care for. Like many hospices across the country, rising costs continue to be a concern for St Gemma’s. It is sad — and also frustrating — that we are still seeing announcements from the sector of hospices having to cut back services. However, this funding is restricted to physical improvements only and cannot be used to cover the day-to-day costs of running our services, which face growing demand and rising costs.
At St Gemma’s, around one third of our funding comes from the NHS, with the remaining two thirds raised through the generosity of our local community — including donations, fundraising, our retail shops and gifts in wills. Despite this incredible support, we are currently operating a deficit budget, and the long-term sustainability of hospice care remains a significant national challenge.
Laura Squire OBE, Chief Executive of St Gemma’s Hospice, said:
We are truly thankful for this investment in our infrastructure. It allows us to accelerate important improvements and ensure our hospice environment remains fit for the future.
But as ever, it’s our people who deliver the care, and that relies on sustainable, long-term funding. We remain committed to working with our partners across the sector to build a funding model that supports the full cost of providing expert, compassionate end-of-life care.
We welcome the Government’s recognition of the need for more sustainable support, and were encouraged by recent comments from Steven Kinnock MP, Minister for Care, who said he is determined to avoid “another last-minute scramble” for short-term funding and wants to see a long-term plan in place through to the end of this Parliament. A multi-year funding settlement for palliative and end-of-life care is now under discussion, and we hope this marks the beginning of meaningful, lasting solutions.
This capital funding is a positive and timely initiative, and we are grateful to the Government and to Hospice UK for their continued support. It enables us to make meaningful improvements to the spaces and systems we rely on every day.
At the same time, we remain focused on the bigger picture — ensuring that, alongside improving our buildings, we have the sustainable funding needed to support the care that happens within them. Behind every room refurbishment or digital upgrade is a patient, a family, a moment of comfort, peace or dignity. With the continued support of our community, and a clear commitment from government to long-term investment, we will keep striving to ensure high quality hospice care is available for everyone who needs it — now and into the future.
