In the face of a national hospice funding crisis, Willen Hospice is urging the people of Milton Keynes to back its call for fairer funding from the NHS this Hospice Care Week (7-13 October).
The Hospice’s new campaign, ‘Care at Home? Who cares?’, aims to secure the future of its community service, Willen at Home. The Willen at Home team make it possible for many local people with a life-limiting illness to stay in their own home and live well until they die, for however long that may be. But unless there’s an increase in income for the Hospice, it may have to take the heart-breaking decision to cut back core services, such as Willen at Home.
Although the Hospice is well-known for its lakeside In-Patient Unit, the majority of its care happens in the community. 86% of the Hospice’s patients are cared for in the place where they live, by Willen at Home nurses. During home visits and regular calls, the team use their specialist knowledge to help ease symptoms, give medication advice and provide emotional support, to carers as well as patients.
Yet despite being the only service of its kind in Milton Keynes, Willen at Home receives no NHS funding. The expert care and support provided is free of charge to patients but costs the charity £1.4 million each year. This cost is entirely covered by fundraising. Whereas in neighbouring counties, similar community services are paid for by the NHS.
“Willen Hospice is currently one of the most poorly funded hospices in the country,” says its Director of Clinical Services, Kike Pinheiro. “Only 13.8% of our running costs are met by ongoing NHS funding, which is less than half of the average amount provided to hospices nationally. The people of Milton Keynes rely on the services Willen Hospice provides and deserve a better deal.”
The ‘Care at home? Who cares?’ campaign is urging local people to pledge their support for the Hospice, and particularly the Willen at Home team. The charity is hoping to get 10,000 signatures to show that the Milton Keynes community does care about care at home and wants fairer funding for their local hospice.
Visit www.willen-hospice.org.uk/whocares to show your support.
