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Guernsey hospice struggles with running costs

Les Bourgs Hospice says community support alone may not be enough as care costs and complexities increase.

Les Bourgs Hospice was set up 35 years ago to provide palliative and respite care in Guernsey.

The organisation has run on fundraising, donations, volunteering and retail income, but now has concerns about its financial future.

The Hospice costs £2.8 million a year to run.

In 2024, it was forced to draw around £1 million from its reserves, and in 2025, it used another quarter of a million.

Chief Executive Rob Jones says this is not sustainable.

"Over the past two years, we've seen a dramatic increase in complex health conditions where we have people who may have six different terminal health conditions.

"And when you are caring for someone with those levels of complexity, then you need to ensure that you've got the right nurses with the right experience who can properly manage the symptoms and medicines.

"So it's a lot more clinical than it ever has been.

"We're going through that (financial reserves) at a faster rate than we've ever seen before.

"But what we're not doing is saying, well, we're going to hold on to money for a rainy day. This is the rainy day.

“We have enough in our reserves to see us through a maximum of three years, but that can disappear very quickly."

Rob says they are having discussions with the States of Guernsey on possible support going forward.

He says most UK hospices receive a level of government support.

"The average sits between about 20 to 30% of their costs are usually covered.

"Our closest comparator, Jersey Hospice Care, I think about 46% of their costs are covered by the States of Jersey.

"That gives you the size of the magnitude of some of the funding that we see elsewhere.

"So we've done really well to get to 35 years and not need any."

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