Keep Queenscourt in Service - Queenscourt Hospice
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Keep Queenscourt in Service

Important Announcement – the future of Queenscourt Hospice

A message from Queenscourt’s Executive Directors.

For 35 years, Queenscourt has stood beside our community, delivering exceptional, compassionate care for local people when they need us most. However, as we reach this significant milestone in 2026, we are facing the most severe financial challenge in our history.

Demand for our Specialist Palliative Care services has never been greater. Yet at the very moment need is rising, our everyday costs are escalating sharply, and our charitable income is falling. We are not alone. This is part of a national funding crisis gripping hospices across the UK. The situation is stark: two in every five hospices are preparing to make cuts this year. As Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, warned:

“Hospices are on the brink… costs continue to snowball and demand keeps rising. Hospices can’t keep up and many are making or considering cuts.”

Queenscourt is now confronting the same reality. We have been operating with an annual deficit of £2 million for the past two years, and the same shortfall is predicted for 2026/27. This widening gap has been created by a “perfect storm” of pressures:

  • Legacy income has fallen dramatically — from over £1.2 million a year to around £250,000.
  • Employer National Insurance contributions have risen.
  • Staff salary uplifts are essential to keep pace with NHS pay.
  • Fundraising is more challenging than ever.
  • Retail income is declining along with wider high‑street footfall.

We currently receive less than 24% funding from the NHS and the rest we have to raise ourselves, that’s over £5million of fundraising that we have to do each year to keep our vital services open for the people of Southport, Formby, and West Lancashire.

We are working tirelessly with our hospice collaboratives and NHS Integrated Care Boards to secure fairer, more sustainable funding – the kind that would finally bring us closer to the national average of between 35–40% contribution towards hospice costs. This process takes time, and time is something that our financial position does not afford us.

Right now, our situation is unsustainable, and we are being forced to consider the possibility of reducing vital services. This is a step we never imagined we might have to contemplate.

That is why we need your support now to KEEP QUEENSCOURT IN SERVICE.

How you can help:

Your generosity will help to ensure that Queenscourt’s Specialist Palliative Care remains available, and free of charge, for people with life-limiting illnesses across West Lancashire, Southport, and Formby.

THANK YOU on behalf everyone at Queenscourt Hospice, and on behalf of those who will never be able to thank you themselves.

More information

If you would like any further information about this article please contact, Sam Hawksley on hospice@queenscourt.org.uk