The contract equates to £829,000 annually, which allows for up to 9 (an average of 7) of our 22 patients at a time to be cared for by the Hospice’s experienced and caring nurses. This service has been running since 2018 following a successful pilot that started in December 2017. In the last year this service has allowed us to care for 221 people and their loved ones.

In 2025 a government grant from the Department of Health and Social Care became available and was strictly restricted for use on capital projects with specific application criteria.

Unfortunately, due to the grant restrictions, this grant is not transferable to support the running costs of the Hospice, including the contract with CUH.

Our Trustee Board and CEO, Sharon Allen, continue to work with the NHS and other partners to demonstrate the impact of our care for our local community. They continue to explore alternative solutions to avoid the devasting impact of the closure for many people in our local community. We are working very hard to explore all options and opportunities available to us.

Our Trustee Board, some of whom have had personal experience of the service, are committed to maximising quality end-of-life care for the community of Cambridgeshire. The Senior Leadership Team is working with system partners to identify how this can be achieved, and Trustees are willing to limited use of reserves for a transition period to establish a new service model.

Our ‘Protect our Care’ campaign has been launched alongside this news to ask for help to raise more money. We are very grateful to our community who support us so generously. We hope that continues as well as more people, businesses and groups donating, organising events, shopping in our shops and visiting our Bistro. Our Income Generation team are currently looking at areas that have potential to grow – some of which have a longer-term impact so we need as much support as we can get now to help us plan for the future.

If future funding is not secured to make a new service sustainable, unfortunately we will care for less people in the future, to protect our other services for specialist end-of-life care. We see this scenario as a last resort, but given the current financial situation, we would have no other choice but to reduce our capacity to care for people in our Inpatient Unit from 22 to 12 at any one time.

We want to assure colleagues, supporters and our local community that we are exploring all possible opportunities to secure future sustainable funding.

As an organisation our priority is the care of our patients and their loved ones. Therefore, we are careful and effective stewards of our financial sustainability and continually review. We work with our colleagues to review non-essential expenditure, looking at alternative income generation and seeking efficiencies across all areas of the charity.

The notice of our contract ending was unexpected and has given limited opportunities to seek alternative funders to date. Our Trustee Board will continue to explore opportunities throughout the notice period to find sustainable income to protect our financial reserves and this important service.

No, all our services are free of charge to patients and are funded through previously secured funding from the NHS and ongoing charitable donations from our generous community.

There are lots of ways you can support us. Please share our important updates with your network, consider making a donation or joining a local event. Support our retail shops, pop into the Hospice Bistro for lunch, afternoon tea or a Sunday roast. If you are connected to local businesses, please encourage them to select us as Charity of the Year. If you are thinking longer term, please consider leaving a gift in your Will.  

Unfortunately, we are not alone. Data from Hospice UK reveals that as many as 2 in 5 hospices are planning to make cuts this year due to funding difficulties and that 85% are currently running a deficit this financial year.  

With demand increasing, the stark reality of insufficient and unsustainable funding leaves hospices with no option but to reduce or close services just as they should be expanding. 

2 in 5 hospices planning to make cuts this year | Hospice UK 

There are lots of ways you can support the Charity:

• Please share our important updates with your networks 
• Write to your MP
• Consider making a donation
• Sign up to one of our fundraising events or challenges
• Support our retail shops and outlets
• Pop into the Hospice Bistro for lunch, afternoon tea or a Sunday roast.
• Consider your business supporting the Charity or encourage your employers to select us as Charity of the Year.
• If you are thinking longer term, please consider leaving a gift in your Will.