Vikki Slade, MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, has backed a new Liberal Democrat policy calling for urgent action to secure the future of hospice care.
The motion, agreed at the party’s Bournemouth conference, demands sustainable funding for hospices, scrapping the recent rise in Employer National Insurance contributions, and a national strategy to better integrate hospice care with the wider health and social care system. It also calls for children’s hospice funding to be ring fenced and for an end to the postcode lottery of care that means access can vary depending on where people live.
Hospices support around 300,000 people across the UK each year, but many are under severe financial strain. In last year alone, one in five hospices had to cut services, with most relying heavily on fundraising to cover costs.
Vikki Slade has long campaigned for improved hospice provision in Dorset, including raising money for Julia’s House hospice through a constituency challenge, chairing a parliamentary roundtable on rural palliative care, and meeting directly with local providers.
She said hospices are “lifelines for families facing the most difficult times” and warned that without fairer funding “the sector is being pushed to the brink.” She added that no family should miss out on care because of where they live or shortfalls in government support.
With deaths projected to rise significantly by 2040 and more people living with complex conditions, demand for hospice care is set to grow. The new policy aims to ensure families across Dorset and the wider UK can access high-quality end-of-life support.
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