Hospice bosses have warned they face an “insurmountable funding gap” and concerns are growing that they may be forced to turn people away.

Senior managers from more than a dozen care homes have banded together to call on political leaders to “chart a new path” for next month’s Holyrood Budget, insisting “funding is in crisis”.

They said hospices were an “important part” of the health and care system but were not part of the NHS, instead having to fund the running costs of charities.

Those who called for “sustainable hospice funding” to be part of the Budget on December 4 said cost pressures were worsening.

Their financial situation was outlined in a letter to the Herald newspaper from the heads of Children’s Hospice across Scotland (Chas), Accord Hospice, the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice and several other hospice organisations, as well as co-directors. Marie Curie Scotland – providing care for terminally ill patients at home and in hospices.

The hospice sector provides “dignified care” to approximately 21,000 patients each year, as well as support for their families and loved ones, but these patients struggle “tremendously,” the letter said.

He said increases in NHS wages could leave them facing extra costs, noting how they rely on “generous donations and fundraising” for staff such as nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, counselors and support staff.

They said it was “almost impossible” to meet the 5.5 per cent pay rise given to NHS clinical and support staff and the 10.5 per cent pay rise given to consultant doctors.

They also told how heating, transport and material costs are “rising” and that the increase in employer national insurance contributions announced in the UK Budget alone will add another £2.5 million to wage bills from April.

They concluded: “Scottish care homes face an insurmountable funding gap.

“There is now a risk that, for the first time, care homes will have to turn people away.

“Cutting services is the last thing any of us want to do. This would break our hearts. “We promise to do everything we can to avoid this, but we also need to balance the books.”

They expressed concern as they told political leaders that next month’s Scottish Budget, due to be announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Shona Robison, offers “an opportunity for our political parties to chart a new path”.

They added: “Supporting hospices is not only the right thing to do for patients and families, it’s also the right thing to do for the healthcare system. Hospice care relieves pressure on our overstretched NHS.”

Warning that Scotland’s aging population means more people will need it in the future hospice care, they said, could “transform people’s experience of death and dying in Scotland by providing sustainable hospice funding”.

hospice The CEOs said: “Ahead of the Scottish Government Budget in December, we are urgently calling for cross-party consensus on sustainable hospice funding, so that care at the end of life is what it should be and everyone has access to palliative care where and when they need it.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.

Follow STV News on WhatsApp

Scan the QR code on your mobile device for the latest news from around the country