Arthur Rank Hospice: Cambridgeshire MPs call on the government to restore vital funding

Pippa has written to Wes Streeting, the health secretary, calling for him to step in and provide the funding needed to save the Arthur Rank Hospice beds threatened by grant cuts. 

You can read about the issue and sign Pippa's petition here.

The text of the letter follows, or you can see the downloadable PDF at the end of this article

The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP
Secretary of State
Department of Health & Social Care

Dear Secretary of State,

Re: Funding Crisis at Arthur Rank Hospice

As Liberal Democrat MPs of Cambridgeshire we are writing to you with deep concern regarding the devastating funding cuts that threaten the future of Arthur Rank Hospice in Great Shelford.

Arthur Rank Hospice is being forced to plan for the closure of nine of its 23 beds, a reduction of 40% in its inpatient capacity, as a result of Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) being unable to sustain its previous funding contribution. This represents an annual funding deficit of £829,000. For more than a decade CUH has commissioned specialist nursing palliative care at the hospice, a forward-thinking, integrated model that has not only freed up beds at Addenbrooke’s but also enabled patients to receive end-of-life care in a community setting with dignity and compassion.

The loss of this funding will mean that more than 200 patients a year will no longer have the option of being cared for in the hospice. Instead, they will die in hospital wards already under immense strain, without the privacy, expertise, and comfort that Arthur Rank provides. As Sharon Allen, CEO of the hospice, has said: “The removal of this funding has truly devastated us all … this now means that over 200 people a year will no longer have the option of being cared for in the comfort of our Hospice … this is truly heartbreaking.”

What makes this situation particularly alarming is the stark disparity between these cuts and the NHS’s 10-Year Health Plan updated just this year. That plan commits to moving care into the community through the Enhanced Health in Care Homes model and preventative, neighbourhood-based care, specifically to reduce hospital admissions. Arthur Rank Hospice embodies this vision. To strip away its funding is to undermine both national strategy and local patient care.

This financial crisis is compounded by the government’s increase in employer National Insurance contributions, which has added an additional £225,000 a year to the hospice’s costs. For a charitable provider already under strain, this burden is untenable.
We therefore urge you in the strongest terms to:

1. Restore the funding deficit to ensure all 23 beds at the Arthur Rank Hospice remain open and serving people at the most difficult time of their lives.
2. Provide long-term, sustainable funding through the ICB for the hospice's specialist palliative care services.
3. Roll out the move from hospital to community care with hospices and GPs at its heart: ensure the new NHS 10 Year Plan supports the critical role hospices play in delivering the government’s own policy of providing community-based care and alleviating pressure on NHS hospitals.

We cannot afford to lose such a vital community resource. Hospices like Arthur Rank are lifelines for families and essential to the delivery of care with dignity at the end of life. At a time when we should be strengthening palliative and community-based services, allowing them to wither through short-sighted funding decisions would be a grave mistake.

We look forward to your urgent response.

Yours sincerely,

Pippa Heylings MP Member of Parliament for South Cambridgeshire
Ian Sollom MP Member of Parliament for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire
Charlotte Cane MP Member of Parliament for Ely and East Cambridgeshire