Minister Moves to Reassure Over Hospice Changes

Health Minister Claire Christian has moved to reassure the island after last week’s news that Hospice Isle of Man is planning redundancies, insisting ‘no patient will be left without palliative and end of life care that they need’.

Speaking in the House of Keys this morning, she admitted it’s ‘a time of understandable worry’, but stressed the hospice’s ‘essential core services are protected and will continue to be protected’.

The charity revealed it has been running at a deficit for six years, blaming rising costs, an ageing population and comparatively low government funding, with job losses now on the table as part of a plan to secure its future.

But the minister was clear on one thing: ‘Manx Care and hospice will work together to ensure that no patient will be left without palliative and end of life care that they need.’

A three-week voluntary redundancy process is now under way, meaning details of service changes are still up in the air for now.

What is staying, though, are the key services people rely on, including inpatient care, Hospice at Home, specialist nursing and Rebecca House.

Money, of course, is at the heart of it all.

Government funding currently makes up around 24% of hospice income, with the rest coming from donations and fundraising (yes, all those coffee mornings are doing some heavy lifting).

Ms Christian said comparisons with the UK and Jersey ‘must be treated with caution’, adding that government support actually equates to about 37% of core staffing costs.

She also confirmed the hospice will receive £1.8 million in 2026-27, a slight increase on this year, while longer-term funding is now under review.

Keys members had plenty of questions, including whether more money could be found and why the hospice’s £2.4m request hasn’t been met.

The minister said further work is now under way to look at whether funding for core services should increase, with a full review expected before the 2027-28 budget.

In the meantime, government and Manx Care say they’re working closely with hospice to make sure any changes are ‘carefully planned, clinically safe and appropriately coordinated’.