Liz Jarvis MP demands action to end the palliative care postcode lottery

Liz Jarvis MP said:

“Hospices should be recognised as an essential part of our health and care system, properly funded and supported like any other. I stand ready to work with Ministers to make sure everyone, wherever they live, can access the care they deserve at the end of their life.”

Echoing Hospice UK’s national campaign, Liz Jarvis MP has called on the Prime Minister and Health Secretary to end hospices' reliance on charitable donations by providing reliable, long-term funding based on patient need, regardless of where they live. She is also urging ministers to introduce a national strategy with fair, multi-year NHS contracts that keep up with rising costs, alongside funding for occupational therapists in community hospice teams to help patients stay out of the hospital.

Highlighting the impact on patients, Liz Jarvis MP commented:

“Far too many sick and dying people are being denied the comfort and dignity they deserve in their final weeks and months. The result is a postcode lottery in palliative care, where the quality of support someone receives at the end of their life depends not on their needs, but on where they happen to live.”

Hospices in England have seen a funding cut in real terms of £47 million between 2022 and 2024 alone. Government funding covers only around 40 per cent of the cost of care, leaving charities to fill the gap through donations, and almost six in ten hospices have cut services or are considering it.

Across England, 380 of the country’s 2,200 hospice beds now stand empty and unused, including 160 that have closed permanently.

Liz Jarvis MP warned:

“Each one of those beds represents a patient who might otherwise have received specialist care in their final days, and a family left without the support they needed.”

In Eastleigh, Mountbatten Hospice shows what hospice care can achieve. Over its last five-year strategy, it grew its caseload by more than 200 per cent and now delivers 85 per cent of its care at home, well above the UK hospice average of 50 per cent, through a 24/7 service that helps keep people out of hospital.

However, funding challenges are inhibiting the work and care hospices like Mountbatten are able to provide. For nine months, a Hospice UK grant funded an occupational therapist to work alongside Mountbatten's community nurses, helping 275 people at risk of hospital or hospice admission to stay safely at home. Since the grant ended, Mountbatten has been unable to secure funding to continue.

Addressing the matter of funding, Liz Jarvis MP challenged:

“Statutory assessments can take several weeks, making prompt home support vital for preventing injuries among vulnerable patients.

“Investing in hospice care delivers far greater value for money than reactive crisis care, with a single hip fracture costing approximately £30,000, whereas proactive hospice care at home helps avoid these costly admissions.

“It is unacceptable that a service making such a difference has been lost because funding is so short-term and inconsistent.”