End of life care 'making a difference' but hospice hurting financially as boss fears for future

Katie Cole has been hearing about the impact one North East hospice is having on people in their final days as calls grow for urgent intervention

A hospice providing vital end of life care in the North East is warning services could be lost as financial pressures grow.

Just days after a proposed law on assisted dying passed to the next stage of parliament, those working in palliative care now say the system needs urgent attention.

The boss of Newcastle's Marie Curie Hospice believes urgent intervention is needed to ensure the future of its services.

Gill White told ITV Tyne Tees: "We see the difference every day good end of life can make for patients and their families. It’s something you only get a chance to do once and we are all going to come to that point in our lives.

"We are here to support patients and families during the most difficult time in their lives and the thought of having to restrict or cancel services is really difficult."

The head of operations for the North East said that after struggling to recruit staff, the hospice now pays the same wages as the NHS and it is hurting financially.

Hospices are charities and while they do get around 30% of their funding from the NHS, the rest is from fundraising.

"I do worry about the year ahead," she added. "The changes to the National Insurance contributions that are to come are going to have a significant effect on the charity.

"And also, the fact that we do rely very heavily on fundraising and the financial climate out there is really difficult. I think we need to look at the amount of funding that end of life care gets. We haven't seen increases in our contracts for many many years."

Every year around 300 people are admitted here as an inpatient to the Marie Curie Hospice - some for their final days and others for help with symptoms.

And despite the challenges the hospice is facing, patients say care there is second-to-none.

Jean Fullerton is about to celebrate her 97th birthday and is determined to get home for it, with sessions in the gym helping.

She said: "I was like a washed out rag when I came - with aching legs and everything. And now I feel as though I can cope - I can cope a lot better - not wholly but better."

Others come for a few hours each week for treatment, like Lee Wilkinson, 53, who has motor neurone disease.

Meanwhile the hospice runs sessions for those living in the community to drop in.

Volunteer Jim Amos said the perception of a hospice is stark in contrast to the reality.

He said: "A lot of people think a hospice years ago was some dark miserable place, it's the opposite. It's a lovely lovely place."

Healthcare assistant Sue Windsor is keen to spread this message.

She said: "You say hospice to some people and they get scared because they think they just come here and they don't go out and it's not like that at all.

"They come here and for those couple of hours they forget about everything that's happening."

While patients speak highly of the care they receive at the hospice - those working there find the part they play in helping people die well rewarding.

Glynis Berry, who overseas a team of counsellors, said: "When you've had difficult conversation and you have helped someone navigate even down to what they want to put in their coffin with them, who they want to care for them, how they want to be cared for - those really in-depth conversations - you know that you've done a job well done."

And for those who have had the opportunity to experience what the hospice has to offer, it is not something forgotten quickly.

Stefanie Pendleton's dad died at the hospice 16 years ago.

Now she is one of the hospice's regular fundraisers and has donated £13,000 over the years.

She said: "This was the only place my dad would agree to come to. He didn't want to go to hospital. But when we came in here, me and my sister just looked at each other and said 'this is a hotel, it isn't a hospital'. It's not what you think it's going to be. They make it a home from home."

Despite people's generosity there concerns remain for the future of the hospice, which during tricky financial times leaves the staff making hard choices about who can access its care.

There are already waiting lists for beds there and head nurse Gillian Raine fears things are only going to get worse.

She said: "Every day we have to go through that waiting list and think who is the main priority on this list? Who do we need to bring in? Who can wait another day for this care?

"And sometimes that's a really difficult decision to make because you know there's patients who are either in a hospital bed where they don't need to be and they should be somewhere like this, or there's families really struggling in the community and you have to say 'I'm sorry I can't bring that patient in'."

For those who will come here this Christmas, staff want to make it the best it can be.

Each bedroom looks out onto a garden turned grotto and this year there is a new addition in the form of the Angel of the North.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are working to make sure everyone has access to high-quality end of life care.

“The choices the Chancellor made in the Budget allowed us to invest another £26 billion in the NHS. We are looking at how we can support hospices next year to ensure they are sustainable.”

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