Sector is subsidising the NHS according to campaigners

Scotland’s hospices urgently need more funding as they face massive deficits with their income.

Their representative body, Hospice UK, wants an additional £16m cash injection from the Scottish Government to deal with rising staff and running costs.

It is estimated that the hospice sector supports around 21,000 children and adults in Scotland a year with two-thirds of income coming from fundraising.

The body says Scottish hospices spend over 70% of their costs on staff and recruit from the same pool of staff as the NHS so must match NHS salaries to ensure they are able to attract and retain the same professionals to deliver their vital services for people at the end of their lives.

But as matching NHS pay sends costs soaring, without additional statutory funding hospices have to rely on fundraising to pay for every penny.

Helen Malo, Scotland manager at Hospice UK, said: "Hospices need urgent support to ensure they can continue delivering high-quality care for people at the end of life - without worrying about how to pay their hard-working staff a fair wage.

“To expect hospices to match this through further fundraising, at a time when their local communities may be struggling themselves is increasingly untenable.

“Scottish Government must commit additional funding for hospices in its upcoming budget to help address the huge £16m deficit facing the sector and ensure hospice funding is sustainable in the long term, so hospices can continue to support the people who need them most."

A Scottish government spokesperson said it would continue to work to support longer-term sustainable planning and commissioning for the sector.

A spokesperson said: "The financial position across Scottish Government is extremely challenging and work is ongoing to identify measures to address the continued challenges in 2023-24 and beyond."