'Lifeline' Swindon hospice to remove two of its eight beds

A hospice in Swindon says it has reluctantly decided to remove two out of its eight inpatient beds, amid a rise in demand, due to lack of funds.

Prospect Hospice in Swindon, Wiltshire, is one of dozens of hospices calling for more NHS funding.

The government said it had made more than £350m available to hospices since 2020 to increase NHS capacity.

Prospect Hospice chief executive Jeremy Lune said without help it would have more "tough decisions" to make ahead.

"If the situation doesn't change we will have to, in the future, look at all the services we provide and make some difficult decisions," he added.

Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board [BANES ICB] has said it is "fully committed to providing local people with compassionate and personable care at the very end of life".

A backbench debate in Westminster was scheduled on Monday, calling for local health authorities to do more to support hospices and keep beds open, but the debate has since been moved.

The news comes as a national charity Hospice UK warned hospices were facing a £77m deficit.

'They were invaluable'

Sinead Nolan-Martin's late husband Harry was diagnosed with a rare form of glioblastoma during the first coronavirus lockdown.

The cancer had caused paralysis and he was referred to Prospect Hospice at the age of 24.

His 27-year-old widow said towards the end of his care they had "a huge amount of support" from the hospice.

"You'd have someone round within minutes at times," she told the BBC.

"I honestly don't know how we would have managed without them.

"We did not know what we were dealing with."

She added: "To have input from these guys were invaluable. They've been a lifeline."

Robin Bailey, 74, joined as a chair on the board until his health deteriorated and he had to step down.

He is having treatment at the Royal Marston in London and was referred to the hospice for pain management.

"It's a really rounded facility they offer, where you know you can rely on their professionalism.

"But it's not just professionalism, it's their attitude. They can do, they will do. It's so important."

"Without them I would be struggling."

A spokesperson for BANES ICB said: "We understand the enormous financial pressure being felt by charitable organisations locally, including Prospect Hospice, and we remain on hand to provide colleagues with tangible support that can help them to continue caring for those most in need."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We want everyone to have access to the high-quality, personalised palliative care that can make all the difference at such a difficult time.

"That is why we require all local NHS integrated care boards to commission end of life care services to meet their patients' needs."

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