Shropshire hospice calls on the Government for more energy help amid spiralling costs

Severn Hospice looks after people at sites in Telford and Shrewsbury - some who need energy hungry equipment to be on all the time - and it also has a network of fundraising shops.

Another hospice group - Hope House - has called for extra help for the parents of disabled children who face sky rocketing bills to look after their children at home.

Heather Tudor, chief executive of Severn Hospice, said it also faced rising prices as inflation heads towards 10 per cent. And overall they think the impact will cost the hospices around £1 million extra this year.

"It is worrying," she said. "Two thirds of the money that we raise comes from our supporters.

"We are more and more dependent on our supporters to keep us going.

"We can't stop caring, we have to continue to invest in our services because needs change and needs increase."

But although the situation is a "constant worry" she said at the moment the hospices are in a "good place." She said they are well run financially with rainy day reserves in the bank.

The issue there will be if costs keep rising and reserves have to be eaten into. That, she said could have an impact on the budgets for maintenance and developing services.

But she is confident that people will continue to support them.

They are restricted too in the amount they can save because they have to have heating for water and to have warm environments.

"We can't have patients being cold," she said.

High bills follow a the pandemic when the hospices' ability to fundraise was limited because it had to close charity shops and could not hold events.

Hope House Children's Hospices provide specialist nursing care and support to more than 750 terminally ill children and their families who live in Shropshire, Cheshire, North and Mid Wales. They provide vital respite, crisis and end of life care in two hospices – Hope House in Oswestry and Tŷ Gobaith in Conwy.

Chief Executive Andy Goldsmith said: "Hope House and Ty Gobaith Children’s Hospices welcome the measures announced today by the Prime Minister to address the rising cost of energy bills for households, businesses and charitable organisations.

"However, while freezing average energy bills will bring a sense of relief for many, the families that we support are already facing much higher bills because of the additional energy needed to power vital equipment used to care for children with life-threatening conditions.

“The charity Scope has estimated that families with a disabled child face, on average, extra costs of £581 a month. The impact of recent energy price rises and the overall rise in the cost of living has already increased that figure dramatically.

"We are calling on the UK Government to look at what more can be done help these families who are caring for the most vulnerable children in our communities.”

It costs more than £7.5 million every year to run Hope House services. Statutory funding currently pays for two months’ running costs each year. It depends on donations to pay for the other 10 months.

They have set themseleves the challenge of raising an additional £2.5 million a year by 2025 to ensure we can afford to help every family who needs us. To ensure no one faces the death of their child alone.

Katie Reade, Hospice UK's policy and advocacy manager said the impact on the sector is massive.

She said: “We estimate that hospices will have to pay an additional £115 million per year, or £2 million a day, due to increasing costs.

"This isn’t just limited to energy bills as increases in the cost of fuel and employer National Insurance contributions and the cost of matching NHS pay rises are also driving significant financial concerns across the hospice sector.

“Hospices are an essential part of the health and care system and have played a critical role in supporting the NHS throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as it stands, hospices will have to rely on their local communities to fundraise through bake sales and marathons in order to meet their increasing costs and keep their services open.

“It is unacceptable for any form of essential care, including end of life care, to rely on the generosity of already stretched communities to be delivered. Therefore, we are calling on the Government to extend any potential NHS support to the hospice sector to enable hospices across the country to continue to provide their much needed care and support our health and care system”