[Bret Kavanaugh / Creative Commons]
HOSPICES providing end-of-life care for terminally ill people are facing a £60 million funding shortfall.
Hospice UK, which represents more than 200 hospices, said they now receive more income from their charity shops than they do from the government.
The charity warned in July that hospice finances are in their worst state for 20 years, meaning fewer patient beds, staff redundancies and fewer home visits to dying patients.
With more people dying each year and many spending their final days in institutions, researchers argue that wider access to palliative care could offer a more humane and cost-effective alternative, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
GEOFF BOTTOMS, who has worked in a palliative care hospice for 11 years, argues the postcode lottery for proper end-of-life care must be ended to give the terminally ill choice and agency
