Tanya Baddeley

Raising awareness of the important work carried out by charitable hospices

On Friday 24th November 2023, Oakhaven Hospice welcomed the Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne TD. The MP for New Forest West visited Oakhaven as part of a Hospice Care Week initiative by Hospice UK to raise awareness of the important work carried out at charitable hospices across the UK.

Sir Desmond joined Oakhaven’s Medical Director Dr Fliss Morgan on the ward round, where he had the opportunity to meet staff and patients at Oakhaven’s Inpatient Unit and Day Hospice.

Afterwards, Sir Desmond met Melville Kendal, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Andrew Ryde, Chief Executive and Denise Major, Director of Patient Services, for a conversation about statutory funding and how a more equitable and sustainable level of funding from the government may be possible in the future.

Currently, only 11% of Oakhaven’s costs are covered by statutory NHS funding. For the remaining 89%, Oakhaven relies on donations, fundraising, legacies and the income raised by its retail charity shops and social enterprise Oakhaven Care Ltd. Funding for hospices throughout the UK is becoming ever more challenging in light of the ‘cost of living crisis’, with the sector predicting a shortfall of over £150m by the end of the year.

The Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne TD MP said, “Oakhaven Hospice fully deserves the tremendous reputation it has for its care, together with the gratitude and affection and support of people throughout the New Forest, Totton and Waterside.

“I enjoyed my visit to Oakhaven to meet some of their magnificent team and to gain a better understanding of the care and support provided to patients and their loved ones.”

Andrew Ryde said, “We would like to thank Sir Desmond for his visit to Oakhaven as part of Hospice Care Week, to understand more about working at hospices and the challenges we face in the hospice sector.”

We Are Hospice Care

Organised by Hospice UK, Hospice Care Week officially runs from 9-15 October, with MPs across the country visiting their local hospice both in the run-up to the week and after. This year Hospice Care Week’s ‘We Are Hospice Care’ theme sheds light on the people who make up a hospice, celebrating the breadth, diversity and excellence of the hospice workforce. From clinical staff to bereavement counsellors, kitchen staff to volunteer gardeners, the people who make up a hospice are what makes hospice care so special.

Over 40,000 people work in charitable hospices across the UK. Hospices support more than 300,000 people every year and work across the system to reduce pressure on the NHS and train and support health and care workers. But right now is a challenging time for hospices, and the need for hospice care is growing. The cost of living crisis has seen their costs soar, making fundraising for the majority of their income increasingly challenging. At the same time, recruiting, retaining, and paying their dedicated staff a fair wage has never been tougher.

By engaging with their local hospice, MPs can support brilliant hospice staff and make sure they’re not forgotten by national and local decision-makers.

Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK says: “It is the wonderful people that work and volunteer in hospices that make hospice care so special, and they often find it to be the most rewarding and satisfying job of their career. We are delighted that many MPs are joining their local hospice team for a day, experiencing first-hand what it is like to work or volunteer in such a vital service. It’s a great opportunity for MPs to hear directly from people who use hospice services, or work and volunteer there, on what they can do to support the sector, and to ensure their constituents can continue to access the best possible care at the end of their lives.”