Trinity staff nurse Minnie is taking a starring role this week in Hospice UK's Hospice Care Week campaign, which aims to challenge inequities in hospice funding nationally and highlight the role that hospice shops play in the sector.

New research from Hospice UK states that last year, for the first time, more money was spent in hospice charity shops than hospices received from government nationally. The campaign also celebrates the vital work of hospice shops around the country and their important place at the heart of many communities as a place to shop, donate and volunteer time, in support of much-loved local charities.

The research reveals that charity shops would have to sell 5,375 pairs of jeans to fund a palliative care nurse for a year and a further 43,000 blouses to provide a patient with a hospice bed for the same period of time. Trinity is joining Hospice UK in calling on the government to replace its inadequate funding model to ensure more accessible, equitable palliative and end of life care for all and is attending a special event at Westminster later this week to encourage MPs to support their call for fairer funding.   

Minnie Watts, staff nurse at Royal Trinity Hospice, says: 

“Being able to access hospice care is incredibly important for someone coming to the end of their life or needing respite care, but also for their family and loved ones. No-one should be unable to access the care they deserve because of a lack of funding, but that is the heart-breaking reality we are facing.  

“We are so pleased to see the popularity of charity shops across the country continuing to grow and the part they play in funding hospice care, but it is not a substitute for sustainable funding from government.”   

Emily Carter, Chief Executive at Royal Trinity Hospice says:

"It is a strange anomaly that hospice and end of life care is not fully funded by the NHS. Like many in the hospice sector, I often find myself repeating this fact to people who were unaware that most hospices rely on fundraising and charity shops to fund the bulk of their care. 

"At Royal Trinity Hospice, we are extremely fortunate that our generous local community raises millions of pounds every year to fund the services we provide here on our inpatient unit and in thousands of people’s homes. However, our costs have increased significantly over the past two years. We need to make sure we pay our skilled staff a fair wage and have had to absorb the impact of the increased costs of food, fuel and electricity, which of course also increases the cost of raising funds, all while responding to the significant increase in people dying who need our support. 

"The goal must be for all those who are living with a life-limiting illness and dying in this country to be able to access the specialist care they need, where they need it. Here at Royal Trinity Hospice, we urge the government to listen to the concerns of the hospice sector and address our needs – it is not only the right thing to do, but ultimately inaction will cost the NHS more if hospice services continue to be slashed." 

What you can do this Hospice Care Week:

• Support your local Royal Trinity Hospice shop, or donate items
• Choose to Sponsor a Royal Trinity Hospice nurse
• Join us for a free Talk & Tour on Friday 25 October, where you can find out more about Royal Trinity Hospice 
• Write to your MP this week to ask them to take the challenges facing hospices seriously