Hospice charity is left 'truly devastated' by removal of £800k funding

ADDENBROOKE'S BLAMES FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS ON DECISION

- By KIRSTIE MCCRUM

A CHARITY that helps people die with dignity and comfort is set to lose more than £800,000 of funding.

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity says this means some patients will lose their ability to choose where they die.

The cuts will see a reduction of £829,000 in funding after the charity received notice from Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH), which runs Addenbrooke's Hospital, that funding they provide will cease in six months' time.

Addenbrooke's has paid the funding to the charity since 2018.

A charity spokesperson said it enables people in the hospital who are at end of life to move to the hospice to be cared for there rather than in a busy, acute hospital.

Since 2018, thousands of Cambridgeshire patients have been cared for at the hospice in their last days. Families have been able to stay with their loved ones without the additional concerns of parking fees or restrictions on visiting hours and numbers.

CUH informed the hospice that it is no longer able to fund the service due to financial constraints.