Hospices say they are fighting for survival as the donations which they depend upon “dry up” . Many are working with the NHS to ease the Covid-19 burden by taking in hospital patients needing end-of-life care to free up beds on wards.
Cancer charity Marie Curie may have to shut hospices if the funding gap between government cash and the money they usually raise is not bridged soon.
Chief Matthew Reed warned: “The longer we’re on lockdown the longer the problem will go on.” Two weeks ago, the Government pledged an additional emergency £200million for hospices on top of the £350m it normally provides to plug the huge gap between loss of funding and increased demand.