Hospiscare secures £480k budget boost following campaign supported by Simon Jupp MP

Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon, has welcomed the news that independent local charity Hospiscare has secured a £480,000 funding increase from NHS Devon for the next financial year.

Meeting with Andrew Randell, Chief Executive Officer, and Ann Rhys, Clinical Director, of Hospiscare at the charity’s headquarters in Searle House in Exeter, Simon Jupp MP celebrated the announcement which follows a dedicated campaign he’s supported on the floor of Parliament to get a fairer funding deal for local hospice care providers from NHS Devon.

NHS Devon, the county’s integrated care board (ICB), is responsible for meeting the county’s health needs. As part of their statutory requirements, ICBs – not the government or NHS England – determine local hospice care funding.

Simon Jupp MP first raised the funding issue in 2022 and has repeatedly asked NHS Devon to review their woefully low contributions to local hospice services.

In a letter written to Dr. Sarah Wollaston, Chair of NHS Devon, in November 2023 and a debate he secured in Parliament in January 2024, the East Devon MP criticised the ICB for its below-average hospice care funding figures despite Devon’s demographics and increasing demand. The MP highlighted that Hospiscare was funded for only 18% of its costs from NHS Devon, compared to a national average of 37% from ICBs in England.

Just hours before he took to the floor of Parliament for his January debate on the issue, East Devon’s MP received a letter from Dr. Sarah Wollaston, Chair of Devon’s ICB, which said NHS Devon are working on plans to move towards more equitable NHS funding in the next financial year.

Hospiscare received news in February that it was set to receive a £480,000 budget boost, seeing its contribution from NHS Devon increase to 24%. Before Simon Jupp MP’s successful intervention and the funding announcement, the charity feared it would need to make a capacity reduction of 150 patients.

Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon, said; “Following persistent campaigning, I’m delighted that Hospiscare is receiving nearly half-a-million pounds to boost its budget for the next year. After two years of letters and meetings with the NHS, we’ve finally made some progress. Dr. Sarah Wollaston, Chair of NHS Devon, still needs to provide more funding, comparable with nearby counties, and include other local providers including Sidmouth Hospice at Home who don’t receive a penny from NHS Devon. Many of our loved ones will need the support provided by local hospice charities and their brilliant teams. Devon’s NHS bosses need to look at neighbouring counties who provide fair NHS funding for hospices and do the right thing, once and for all. Nonetheless, nearly half-a-million pounds for Hospiscare is a step in the right direction." 

Andrew Randall, CEO of Hospiscare, said; “We at Hospiscare are grateful for the support of our local MPs in our call for fair funding. I would like to extend our thanks Simon Jupp MP for his active campaigning locally and in Westminster to get local hospices a fair deal. We were delighted to host Simon at our HQ recently and to hear of his continued commitment to getting Devon’s hospices the improved funding they need. We have been clear that to maintain our current hospice services for local people, we need fair and equitable funding from Devon ICB. While the award of additional money from ICB for 2024-25 is welcome, unfortunately it doesn’t give the hospice financial stability. Even with the extra money, the ICB’s funding contribution for next year is 24%, far below the 37% national average for hospice funding that we need to retain our current level of services.

Our services represent excellent value for money for the NHS, as the hospice raises the vast majority of our operating costs thanks to the remarkable generosity of our local community. However, there is only so much money we are able to raise ourselves.”