Protecting palliative care at Arthur Rank Hospice

Motion Text

That this House expresses deep concern at the funding crisis threatening Arthur Rank Hospice in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire and across the country; notes that Arthur Rank Hospice has received notice of funding cuts that will see a reduction of £829,000 from the NHS, risking the closure of nine of the hospice’s 23 beds, a 40 per cent reduction in capacity; further notes that this would deny over 200 patients each year the chance to receive end-of-life care in a community setting, instead placing additional pressure on already overstretched hospital wards; pays tribute to chief executive Sharon Allen and the hospice’s dedicated staff and volunteers for their outstanding care and commitment; acknowledges that in just 24 hours more than 4,000 people signed a petition to protect these local hospice beds, showing overwhelming public support; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to restore the funding deficit through the Integrated Care Board, to provide sustainable long-term funding, and to ensure that hospices remain central to the Government’s new NHS 10 Year Plan to move from hospital to community-based care.