Care at home? Who cares?

In the face of a funding crisis affecting hospices nationally, Willen Hospice has launched its ‘Care at Home? Who cares?’ campaign. The charity is calling on the people of Milton Keynes to pledge their support for fairer funding from the NHS. Unless there is an increase in the Hospice’s income, it will be forced to cut back core services, such as Willen at Home.

The charity’s Willen at Home team make it possible for many local people with a life-limiting illness to stay in their own home and live well until they die, for however long that may be.

Although the Hospice is well-known for its lakeside In-Patient Unit, the majority of its care happens in the community. 86% of the Hospice’s patients are cared for in the place where they live, by Willen at Home nurses. That could be in a house, a nursing home, a caravan, a canal boat – anywhere that the patient calls home.

When asked where they would prefer to die, two-thirds of the Hospice’s patients choose home. The specialist knowledge and training Willen at Home nurses have means they can help alleviate some of the symptoms that often come with a life-limiting illness, such as constant pain or nausea. During home visits and regular calls, they can also give medication advice and provide emotional support, to carers as well as patients.

Despite being the only service of its kind in Milton Keynes, Willen at Home receives no NHS funding. The expert care and support provided is free of charge to patients but costs the charity £1.4 million each year. This is entirely covered by charitable donations from generous local supporters.

Willen Hospice is currently one of the most poorly funded hospices in the country. Only 13.8% of its running costs are met by ongoing NHS funding, which is less than half of the average amount provided to hospices nationally. And in neighbouring counties, community services like Willen at Home are entirely paid for by the NHS.

The people of Milton Keynes rely on the services Willen Hospice provides and deserve a better deal. The city continues to grow, demanding more from the charity. There’s currently no Macmillan nurse provision in Milton Keynes, and on top of this, stretched local NHS services, such as GP surgeries, are increasingly relying on the Willen at Home team for support, easing pressure on the NHS locally.

Willen Hospice has announced that unless it can get a fairer level of NHS funding and an increase in fundraising, it will have to take the heart-breaking decision to cut back core services, like Willen at Home.

As part of the campaign, the charity is calling on the people of Milton Keynes to pledge their support and stand in solidarity with their local hospice. The charity is hoping to get 10,000 signatures to show that the people of Milton Keynes DO care about care at home and want fairer funding for their hospice.

Scan the QR code or visit www.willen-hospice.org.uk/whocares to pledge.