Hope House boss welcomes millions of pounds in winter support for hospices
A children's hospice has welcomed the Government announcement of up to £125 million of funding for hospices in England this winter.
The boss of the Hope House Children’s Hospices, which cares for children in Shropshire, Cheshire and over the border in Wales, welcomed the news in the Government's winter planning, although he said it is not yet certain whether his organisation will receive any.
Hope House chief executive Andy Goldsmith said: "As with all hospices and many other charities, Hope House has had, and continues to have an extremely challenging 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We anticipate that restrictions on our ability to fundraise will continue well into 2021, until the roll-out of vaccines enable people to gather again and take part in great fundraising events.
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"I welcome the announcement from the Government that there will be an extra £125 million available to hospices this winter, although we don’t know yet how this will be distributed or if we will receive any funding.
"Our fundraising income has fallen by over £400,000 this year on top of our charity shops moving from contributing over £800,000 last year to making a loss of almost £400,000 in 2020. We are incurring substantial costs of additional PPE which are amounting to £78 per child, per night.
“This has put an unprecedented financial strain on us, and having further financial support from the Government will further help us navigate through these uncertain times.
“Our supporters have been incredible throughout the pandemic, making donations and taking part in our virtual events, but we are not through this yet and still need your help.”
The hospice can still be supported this year, whether through the popular lottery or the Christmas Raffle. Learn more about the hospice and its fundraising at hopehouse.org.uk.
A section on healthcare in the Government's new Covid-19 Winter Plan document said: "The Government will also invest up to £125 million to secure additional hospice capacity."
See the full document at gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-winter-plan.
