Plans to hike National Insurance payments could make a “bad situation worse” for Bolton Hospice. Last year the hospice announced that it was facing an unprecedented funding crisis and partnered with The Bolton News in a campaign to save the well-loved institution. But chief executive officer Dr Leigh Vallance has warned a planned rise in National Insurance contributions for employers has made the need for a fairer funding deal all the more vital.
Dr Vallance said: “Whilst the National Insurance increase does indeed make a bad funding situation worse for Bolton Hospice, we recognise the government’s need to increase its revenues in order to shore up all of our public services, which have faced unsustainable reductions too. “The fundamental issue here is the need for a sustainable, fairer funding deal for hospices that disproportionately fund, through their charitable income, the majority of the costs of providing the very best highly specialist palliative and end of life care. Bolton Hospice has faced huge challenges (Image: Bolton Hospice) “It is the people of Bolton who are being disrespected and, on whose behalf, we ask the NHS to provide at least 30p to match every 70p raised by the good people of Bolton, and to commit to full cost recovery funding for VCFSE colleagues.
” The hospice relies on private donations, fundraising and contributions from the government via the NHS. In 2023 Dr Vallance announced that Bolton Hospice was running of a loss of up to £1.2M.
