Dorothy House’s response to new government grant allocation.  

Dorothy House is delighted to receive £313,581 in capital funding from the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the recent national £25 million government hospice grant announcement. This brings the DHSC grants total received by Dorothy House to £1,200,559.

With only 20% of our funding coming from the government, we have to rely heavily on the compassion and generosity of our community to fundraise every £4 in £5 it costs to run Dorothy House each year.

Rising costs 

Several years of rapidly rising costs – the NHS Pay Award (an extra £400,000/year) last year’s 40% increase in National Insurance and minimum wage increases – equated to a 7.3% increase in costs. In real terms, this cost Dorothy House £1 million, for which we received additional funding of only £100,000. 

As a result of the recent government budget, on top of these increases in costs, in 2026, the living wage increase of 4.1% will be affecting some of our retail and support teams. We don’t yet know what the NHS Agenda for Change deal will be, but estimate it will increase salaries by 3%. Early total pay increase estimates for 2026 come to £469,000, of which we might receive just £70,000 from the NHS.

Capital restrictions of the grant 

Over the past two years we have received £886,978 in government capital grants. It has enabled us to invest in our digital systems, helping us share information to improve efficiency. We are also investing in improving facilities for patients and staff.   

This short-term investment, though welcome, is not designated for funding staff, patient and family care, nor importantly the staff required for a much-needed expansion of the Hospice’s clinical and community services to meet the projected 25% increase in end of life care need, by 2045.  

Long term financial sustainable funding for hospices 

We will continue to campaign for long term fairer funding for hospices and work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England on the development of the Modern Service Framework (MSF) for palliative care and end of life care, at the same time as warmly welcoming this new £25m for the sector. 

Wayne de Leeuw, Chief Executive of Dorothy House said:
“It is vital that we continue to work together with Hospice UK and the government to secure sustainable long-term funding to ensure people approaching the end of life receive the care at the time, and in the place, that they need it most. Ever since the beginning, we have been working towards a society where death is part of life. That’s our vision for the future. And we’ll do everything we can to make it happen.” 

Efficiencies and innovation  

In our 50th anniversary year, the Hospice has aligned its strategic planning with NHS localised community models, bringing care closer to those who need it. Having recently released a new three-year strategy, entitled ‘It’s personal’, our charity is ensuring that the voices of those cared for are firmly embedded in the design and delivery of future services. 

Our digital first approach has expanded the self-service resources on our website, allowing anyone, anywhere to access free information and advice at the time that they need it most. This includes a new Community Map of support, social groups and wellbeing services and a new Children & Young People’s Wellbeing Hub.  

Earlier in December, thanks to the incredible generosity of 170 Champions and their supporters, the Life Lines 36 hour Appeal raised just over £357,000. Heading into our 50th anniversary year, and with many exciting events being planned, our retail income continues to bring in double the amount of funding that we receive from government.