Protecting palliative care at Arthur Rank Hospice

That this House expresses deep concern at the funding crisis threatening Arthur Rank Hospice in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire and across the country; notes that Arthur Rank Hospice has received notice of funding cuts that will see a reduction of £829,000 from the NHS, risking the closure of nine of the hospice’s 23 beds, a 40 per cent reduction in capacity; further notes that this would deny over 200 patients each year the chance to receive end-of-life care in a community setting, instead placing additional pressure on already overstretched hospital wards; pays tribute to chief executive Sharon Allen and the hospice’s dedicated staff and volunteers for their outstanding care and commitment; acknowledges that in just 24 hours more than 4,000 people signed a petition to protect these local hospice beds, showing overwhelming public support; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to restore the funding deficit through the Integrated Care Board, to provide sustainable long-term funding, and to ensure that hospices remain central to the Government’s new NHS 10 Year Plan to move from hospital to community-based care.