MPs call for urgent review into “inequitable” funding of Willen Hospice.
Our city’s Labour MPs have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, to call for an urgent review of palliative and end-of-life care funding in Milton Keynes.
The call comes after discussions with the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB) about increased funding for Willen Hospice have so far not resulted in the additional support needed, despite hospices in Bedford and Luton continuing to receive full funding for equivalent services.
Shockingly, Willen Hospice is one of the most poorly-funded hospices nationally, with only 12.7% of its operational costs currently supported through statutory NHS funding.
MK’s MPs are also calling for the Department of Health and Social Care to reaffirm the role of ICBs in funding palliative care, and to consider developing a national framework to address unequal levels of funding for hospices.
Callum Anderson, MP for Buckingham and Bletchley, said “Willen Hospice has been the cornerstone of palliative care in Milton Keynes for 40 years. As local MPs we believe that they deserve fair funding, and we are determined to work to achieve that.”
Chris Curtis, MP for Milton Keynes North, added “So many people in Milton Keynes have been supported in their darkest days by Willen Hospice. The idea that these invaluable services could stop because of a lack of NHS funding is unthinkable.”
Emily Darlington, MP for Milton Keynes Central, said “While other cities have vital end-of-life care paid for by the NHS, in Milton Keynes, our wonderful hospice has to rely on the generosity of our residents to provide services. We cannot keep going like this, and it simply isn’t right.”
Kate Broadhurst, Chief Executive of Willen Hospice, said “I am fully committed to working with our local NHS Board to secure the right outcome for our community and am actively working on continuing to resolve the current inequity that exists within our region. I am clear that there needs to be a contribution to funding for the care that takes place in our patients’ homes, from them, and that this should not continue to be funded by the generous people of Milton Keynes.
I am also encouraged that this inequitable funding model is being looked at nationally, and supportive of the work that Hospice UK are doing in influencing how palliative care should be funded in the future by the NHS. This will avoid this continued local disparity. In the meantime, I am very grateful to our MPs for pushing our concerns in Westminster and calling for national reform. The reality is that our funding situation is not sustainable in the longer term, and until we find a solution, we continue to rely on support from both local leaders and our community to keep this vital care available.”
