SUE Ryder – which runs Manorlands at Oxenhope – is warning that the hospice and others could close unless statutory funding is increased.

Currently, only a third of the cash needed by hospices to provide their end-of-life services comes from the Government.

And with the number of people requiring palliative care over the next decade predicted to increase by more than half, Sue Ryder says the sector is in serious danger of collapse.

Heidi Travis, for the charity, says: “I think it will come as a surprise to many that their local hospice is reliant on the generosity of members of the public who choose to donate or fundraise.

“Put plainly, in order to pay the salaries of our doctors and nurses who provide expert care, pain and symptom management to people at the end of their lives, we rely on people buying second-hand clothes from our charity shops or running a marathon and asking their friends and family for sponsorship – and that has been severely hit during the pandemic.

“It is unfathomable that such a critical part of our healthcare system is hanging by a thread.

“Whilst the Government provided some one-off funding to allow hospices to support our NHS during the pandemic, the hospice sector has papered over the cracks for as long as possible.

“The country’s hospices can no longer operate with ad-hoc financial ‘top-ups’ that do not fundamentally address the serious long-term funding crisis facing the sector.”

Sue Ryder has used Dying Matters Week to call on the Government to up its funding of the sector “before it is too late”.

With the number of patients requiring palliative care set to rise from the current 245,000 a year to 379,000 by 2030, annual running costs for the sector would soar to £947 million.

Keighley MP Robbie Moore praises the work of Manorlands – which supports patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families at the hospice and in the community, in an area covering Craven, Airedale and Wharfedale plus parts of Bradford.

And he says he hopes the Government will work with hospices to look at future funding.

He added: “Hospices play a key function in our healthcare system.

“Here in this constituency we have the fantastic Sue Ryder Manorlands facility which provides patients, families and loved ones with the support they need at what is a very difficult time.

“Many constituents know somebody who has been a patient at Manorlands. It has helped and supported local families through tough times. It is my hope that the Government works with hospices to look at the issue of future funding.”

The Government said it acknowledged the “vital importance” of end-of-life care and the role played by hospices and that it had provided a funding boost to support the sector through the pandemic.