'Scandal' of one in five beds empty in hospices

ALMOST one in five hospice beds in England is closed or standing empty despite growing demand for end-of-life care, a study by Oxford University researchers has found.

- BY LUCY JOHNSTON Social Affairs Editor

The analysis exposes a deepening funding crisis in the sector — which its authors have described as a national scandal.

And they warned that shortages in end-of-life care mean increasing numbers of frail and elderly patients are dying “in pain, alone, often hungry and dehydrated”.

Others are being admitted to hospital in emergency situations, adding pressure to already stretched NHS services.

The report by Oxford’s Professor Carl Heneghan and Dr Tom Jefferson, published on their blog Trust the Evidence, estimates that there are around 2,000 hospice inpatient beds nationally.

Around 380 cannot be used currently as services can’t afford the staff and day-to-day costs needed to keep them open safely.

Without additional funding, their analysis warned up to 40% of hospices could cut patient care in the coming months, while more than half of children’s institutions may also be forced to reduce services.

This will leave over 12,000 terminally ill patients unable to access end-of-life care.

As part of a wider review of healthcare spending, Prof Heneghan and Dr Jefferson said hospices were carrying out “NHS work” without consistent NHS funding.