Children’s Hospice Funding

Times are hard and economically difficult for all of us and this includes Francis House and all of the other children’s hospices across the UK.

Each hospice works differently and in very different environments and we must manage in these difficult times quite a big budget.  Last year it cost £4.2 million to operate Francis House, most of this money is raised through public donations and the fantastic generosity and support of the people of the north west.

There is a great need for children’s hospice provision in the area, and at any one-time Francis House has around 2,000 people receiving some sort of care, helping more than 500 families of children, teenagers and young adults with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions each year.

Francis House has children from over 30 Clinical Commissioning Groups all of whom have their own funding problems. We receive a grant directly from NHS England but would like this to be increased to match the grants given to adult hospices. The current NHS England grant accounts for ten percent of our total costs.

Through good stewardship and continued public support Francis House is currently financially stable and there is no need for parents to worry. Our trustees are conscious of the need to provide stability for the families who use us, often for many years, but we also need to plan for steady affordable growth to meet the ever-increasing need for our services.