‘Devastating’ £829,000 NHS funding cut for Arthur Rank Hospice means hundreds more will die in hospital

A “devastating” NHS funding cut of £829,000 means hundreds more people will die each year in a busy hospital rather than at Arthur Rank Hospice.

The hospice has confirmed that Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH), which runs Addenbrooke’s, will withdraw all funding in just six months’ time. It means bed numbers at the hospice’s inpatient unit at Shelford Bottom will be slashed from 21 to just 12.

The hospice says the decision will strip many patients of the vital choice of where they spend their final days and place pressure on families and frontline care teams.

Sharon Allen, CEO of Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, said: “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 and instead will sadly be dying in a busy hospital without the level of privacy for lasting memories, nor the expertise and outstanding care provided by our experienced, compassionate palliative care nurses. For us, this is truly heartbreaking.”

An appeal, called Protect Our Care, has been launched by the hospice and is being backed by the Cambridge Independent. MPs have also raised urgent questions with the health secretary.

The funding, which Addenbrooke’s has paid to the charity since 2018, enables people in the hospital who are at the end of life to move to the hospice to be cared for rather than in an acute hospital.

Thousands of Cambridgeshire patients have been cared for at the hospice in their last days as a result. Families have been able to stay with their loved ones without the additional concerns of parking fees, and restrictions on visiting hours and numbers.

The hospice’s environment offers privacy, space for meaningful conversations and the opportunity to create lasting memories together.

The service was established to help with the flow of patients through the hospital and free up much-needed bed space.

CUH informed the hospice that it is no longer able to fund the service due to financial constraints and stressed its decision was not a reflection of the quality of care provided by Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, which has been serving the community for more than 40 years and is rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission.

Ms Allen added: “The removal of this funding has truly devastated us all. Although we sympathise with the financial pressures that CUH and indeed the whole NHS are under, the ending of this service will, without doubt, have huge implications for our local community.”

The planned funding cuts will impact the inpatient unit at Shelford Bottom, reducing bed capacity from 21 to 12.

Carly Wills, matron of clinical services, said: “This is devastating for our patients and families. Our hospice has always given patients and their loved ones the chance to spend precious time together in a peaceful setting, supported by specialist nurses and we only get one chance to get this right. Without this funding, many will lose the comfort and dignity they deserve at the end of life.”

Ms Allen continued: “Without question, we know these beds are still very much needed by our community, and removing this choice from them is totally unfair. We do not want to see more people dying in hospital when we have a purpose-built hospice and exceptional, caring and experienced teams.

“We are now in the desperate position where we need to seek alternative funding to keep these vital beds available. We now need to ask our supporters to urgently rally round us and support in any way possible to protect our care, now and in the future.”

Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, said: “To hear of yet another hospice having to reduce services is devastating, especially when we know demand for the dedicated, specialist care provided by hospices is increasing. 16 hospices have already been forced to cut services and make valued staff redundant, and we know two in five hospices are planning to make cuts this year.

“Hospice services are shrinking right when they should be expanding to meet rising demand. This cannot continue, we need a long-term solution to hospice funding to ensure dying people get the care they need.”

It is understood that CUH initially planned to continue with the funding, anticipating the national shift towards community-based care, which is a core objective of the government’s 10-year Health Plan for England intended to free up hospital beds.

However, the trust cannot maintain the funding amid the growing financial pressure on its budgets allocated by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System.

The hospice was also forced to find an additional £225,000 a year after the government’s increased employer National Insurance Contributions.

To give it time to explore new funding opportunities, plan for increased fundraising needs and bridge the immediate gap, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity has launched its ‘Protect our Care’ campaign, which the Cambridge Independent is supporting.

The charity is calling on the Cambridgeshire community to stand with it – whether through a one-off donation, by becoming a Friend of Arthur Rank Hospice with a regular gift, or even considering a gift in a will.

Cambridgeshire’s Liberal Democrat MPs – Pippa Heylings, Charlotte Cane and Ian Sollom – voiced their “huge concern” yesterday (Tuesday) and held talks with the hospice CEO. They have also written to the health secretary, demanding that Department of Health and Social Care provides sufficient funding to ensure the essential services the hospice provides can continue without interruption. They have also established a petition at pippaheylings.org.uk/campaigns/ save-arh-beds.

The MPs told the Cambridge Independent: “We cannot lose the amazing service of our beloved Arthur Rank Hospice which provides such important care to families, enabling people to die with dignity whilst receiving professional, caring support for themselves and their loved ones. At a time when the new NHS plan aims to move the provision of care to the community to alleviate pressure on hospital beds, it is astounding that funding decisions can be so short-sighted.

“Everyone deserves access to excellent care right until the very end of their lives. Our hospices, not our overstretched hospitals, should be properly supported to provide this.

“It’s time for the government to see through its ambition for proper community-based care before it’s too late.”

Ms Allen said: “Our thanks, as always, go to our outstanding team of staff and volunteers who work so incredibly hard with compassion and commitment.

“We urge our community to help us continue to be there to make every moment count for the people of Cambridgeshire in their vitally important last days and continue to provide a choice of where to die.”

A CUH spokesperson said: “High quality, personalised end of life care is an essential and highly valued part of the wider health and care system and is commissioned by our Integrated Care Board.

“In 2017, we took the decision to purchase additional end-of-life care beds from Arthur Rank Hospice to enable patients to transfer directly from hospital to the hospice where it was safe and appropriate. On average, we have been able to access around six beds at Arthur Rank Hospice which has helped to alleviate inpatient bed pressures within the wider Trust and has provided a better experience for those patients who were able to transfer to the hospice.

“At the start of this financial year, in order to maintain core services within a reduced budget, we undertook an affordability and value for money assessment of these additional beds. Whilst the service offered to patients is high quality and valued by them and their families, we have taken the very difficult decision to stop purchasing the extra beds with effect from April 2026.

“The palliative care service provided by Arthur Rank Hospice is excellent and we continue to work with them as a valued partner and key part of the health and care system.”

To support the hospice, go to arhc.org.uk/protectourcare.