'We need more funding for our vital hospice'

A hospice that provides "vital" palliative care is warning that it is not receiving enough money from government or fundraising to support its current level of services.

St Catherine's Hospice at Lostock Hall in Preston, Lancashire, is partly funded by the NHS, but has to find more than £5m a year from the community to maintain its services.

Chief executive Lynn Kelly said its annual deficit is running close to £1m.

The Department for Health and Social Care has said it is providing an extra £25m to hospices with a further £75m to come.

Ms Kelly said the hospice, which opened 40 years ago, costs £8.3m a year to run.

The NHS provided 26% last year, this year it was 23%, and ideally she wants a three-year programme to get that figure up to 35%.

"The only income line that hasn't increased in recent years in line with inflation is the NHS income, so that is the one we really need to address," she said.

"The deficit has been growing over the last number of years and that is a concern."

She said there needs to be a radical re-think of how hospice services across the country are funded if current demand, and a predicted increase in those needing care is to be met.

"At the moment there are over 3,000 people who need palliative care in central Lancashire," she said.

"In the next 15 years that is going to increase by 55% and deaths from dementia are going to triple, so hospice services are going to be more in demand than ever before.

"We know already too many people die before we can get to them.

"Last year 220 people died before we could get to them and that will only grow if we can't get our funding."

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