Northland hospice services call for more Government funding as communities struggle with cost-of-living pressures

Hospice Mid-Northland chief executive Belinda Watkins said resources in the health sector have "diminished" since Covid-19. Photo / Jenny Ling

Calls for more Government funding to help Northland families deal with dying loved ones are becoming increasingly desperate as hospice organisations struggle to raise money from cash-strapped communities.

Far North Community Hospice Kaitāia and Hospice Mid-Northland recently posted on social media that Hospice faces an “uncertain future due to a lack of sustainable funding”.

North Haven Hospice has also said a funding shortfall meant it was closer to making tough decisions about which of its services may be axed.

They called on the incoming Government to fund hospice care fairly, “so we can ensure local hospices can continue to be there for patients and whānau”.

“Relying on community and op-shop fundraising is not sustainable,” the post said.

“And it’s not fair on communities struggling with cost-of-living pressures.

“Hospices are facing significant deficits this year, some in the millions of dollars, and these are expected to increase next year.

“As a result, hospices are either already making, or considering, service cuts to remain financially viable.”

Anyone with a life-limiting illness can access hospice support.

While hospice care is primarily focused on the person who is dying, services also help families before and after their loved one has died.

Yet the Government funds less than half the cost of running hospices.

In the 2021-22 year, it cost more than $186 million to provide free hospice care across New Zealand.

While the Government provided $92m, hospices had to raise over $94m from their communities to bridge the gap.

Hospice Mid-Northland chief executive Belinda Watkins said resources in the health sector have “diminished” since Covid-19.

Making cuts to hospice services would be “the last thing we would want to do but if the funding doesn’t keep up then we would have to consider that”, she said.

Watkins said $2.35m was needed to run Hospice Mid-Northland and $1m from the government, leaving $1.3m to raise from a small community each year.

“To rely on income that we generate from fundraising and retail is becoming more and more difficult.

“But we don’t want to cut services.

“We’ve got a responsibility to provide services for people who are dying and we want to continue providing those.

“Looking after people dying is part of life, just like looking after people being born.”

Dani White (centre), pictured with her family, The family were supported by North Haven Hospice when their dad John died earlier this year.

Whangārei resident Dani White and her family received support from North Haven Hospice earlier this year after her stepdad John was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

“We got to Christmas 2022 and noticed a difference in his speech and co-ordination, and realised he was reaching the end.

“We made contact with Hospice and they came to visit us within 24 hours and confirmed it was the end of the road for us.”

White said the nurse travelled from Whangārei to her mum and John’s home in Maungaturoto while the Brynderwyns were shut due to Cyclone Gabrielle.

“She drove the back roads to set us up with medication for John, teach us how to change the bed, and roll him to prevent bedsores.

“They were brilliant, they were the nicest people in the whole process.

“The emotional support was incredible. They would sit and chat with us though they were super busy.

“Hospice had our back.”

White said she was grateful she had a big family who rallied around to support John, who died on March 2.

“The reality is a lot of people don’t have that support and need hospice to help them.”

Te Whatu Ora said it is “committed to ensuring palliative and end-of-life care meets the needs of all New Zealanders”.

The public health agency had established a national palliative care work programme co-sponsored by Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority, a spokeswoman said.

“The purpose of this programme is to support a nationally consistent approach to palliative and end-of-life care planning, funding, service delivery and outcomes.”

The spokeswoman said that, from July 1, hospices contracted by Te Whatu Ora received an additional $11.5m in pay disparities funding per year, as well as a one-off lump sum of $1m in October.

“This funding enables hospices to increase the pay rates of their nursing and kaiāwhina workforce, reducing the pay gap between hospice staff and similar staff employed by Te Whatu Ora.

“Hospice base service contracts also increased by approximately $4.8m from July 1.

“In total, an additional $17.3m will be passed to the 29 hospices who have contracts with Te Whatu Ora in 2023/24.”

On July 28, North Haven Hospice told the Northern Advocate the Government funding it received wasn’t enough to cover the costs of its clinical operations and staff.

Chief executive Helen Blaxland indicated there were no easy decisions for Hospice about what services they could continue to offer.

Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, food, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.