Three quarters of hospices in England running a deficit this year
02 February 2026
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Three quarters of hospices in England are already running a deficit this year, new figures reveal, as the sector warns it is heading towards a financial “cliff edge”.
75% of hospices report they are in deficit at this point in the financial year, up from 70% at the same time last year, which was already the worst year on record for the hospice sector.
New data from Hospice UK shows the situation is continuing to deteriorate, with 83% of hospices expecting their financial position to be worse than last year. At least 25 hospices have made cuts to services since April last year, while two in five are planning further cuts in the year ahead.
Hospices provide vital care for people at the end of their lives, but the majority of that care is funded through charitable income such as marathon runs, gifts in wills and charity shops. Government funding covers only around 40% of the care that hospices provide.
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Hospices are stuck in a doom loop. Last year was the worst financial year on record, and this year is looking even worse.
We can’t fundraise our way out of this crisis, skydiving won’t save hospices. We urgently need fair and long-term NHS funding to avoid a financial cliff edge.
With assisted dying potentially on the horizon, we must make sure hospice care is available for everyone who needs it.
Right now, with many hospices cutting services, it's a real worry that people might choose assisted dying because they can't get the care they need.
- Toby Porter, CEO, Hospice UK
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Barbara-Anne Walker, Chief Executive of Ashgate Hospice said: "Outstanding and well-loved and supported hospices like Ashgate are having to close beds and cut jobs and services not because they are not needed but because we can’t afford to keep them open.
"At the same time, we see people dying in hospital corridors and this disconnect in our health system is heart-breaking. We aren’t saying the NHS needs to pay for everything, but there needs to be a much fairer contribution and an end to the postcode lottery which means your likelihood of accessing high quality end of life care depends on where you live.
"We wouldn’t fund maternity care this way – there would be a national outcry and rightly so. We only get one chance to get end of life care right which is why the government needs to step in - we are hopeful that at long last things are going to change."
