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Hospiscare may have to make cuts

Leaders of four hospices in Devon are calling for government funding

Calls for nurses' pay rise to be funded by government

Exeter and East Devon’s Hospiscare has joined with three Devon’s other hospices to call for the government to fund pay rises for hospice nurses.

The organisations are charities that rely on fundraising. Just last week, a thousand women took part in Exmouth’s Twilight Walk and raised £60,000 for Hospiscare.

They've partnered with North Devon Hospice, St Lukes Hospice in Plymouth and Rowcroft in South Devon to call for the government to match the pay rise for NHS staff. But the Department of Health won't pay more for nurses in hospices. Nationally that means a shortfall of more than £100 million over the next three years. It's just two per cent of the money the government's put aside for staff working in the NHS.

The four Devon charities say that they welcome the pay rise, but lack of government funding will cost them more than one and a half million pounds a year collectively - if they decide to match the pay rise.  And if they don’t, they risk not being able to attract staff and front line services will suffer.

Hospiscare's CEO Glyin Atherton says: “I am deeply concerned that the government is unwilling to meet the cost of a pay rise for hospice nurses.  I fear losing, or being unable to recruit, nurses for our ward and hospice at home services.  Without funding we will have cut back to meet this award which will inevitably impact on patient care.  Hospice nurses deserve fair pay; they do an incredible job. Without hospices the NHS would be even more stretched.”

 

The Government will allow non-NHS providers - that are providing NHS services and that employ staff on an Agenda for Change contract - to access part of the £800 million that is being made available to the NHS this year for staff pay. Only those organisations that match Agenda for Change terms and conditions will be able to access the extra funding.  

Most hospices use Agenda for Change terms and conditions as a guide to their local pay policies for clinical staff - rather than matching the terms and conditions exactly – so it looks likely that the majority of hospices would not be able to access this funding.  

 

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