Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield has issued an urgent call for donations as it grapples with a £1 million funding shortfall. Rising costs, uncertain funding, and a challenging fundraising year have placed the hospice’s future in jeopardy.
Gareth Pierce, CEO of Forget Me Not, revealed plans to cut annual running costs by 12%, amounting to £750,000. This includes restructuring services and up to 16 staff redundancies. “These are impossible choices, but they are necessary to protect the care we provide to children and families in desperate need. Without immediate action, our future looks bleak,” he stated.
Forget Me Not children’s hospice is a charity providing free expert clinical care and support to children with life-shortening conditions and their families and families living with the loss of a child. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, it supports families across West Yorkshire at its purpose-built hospice facility in Huddersfield and in families’ own homes.
It was the local community who campaigned and fundraised for the children’s hospice to be
built. 13 years later, the charity relies on the community to help raise around 90% of the income it needs each year.
The crisis is not isolated. Children’s hospices nationwide are struggling with reduced NHS funding, down 31% since 2021/22 and soaring costs. Nick Carroll, CEO of Together for Short Lives, and Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, called for urgent government action to address the funding crisis threatening these lifeline services.
Huddersfield’s Labour MP, Harpreet Uppal, had also taken the matter to Health Secretary, Wes Streeting in parliament last month urging him to take steps to secure sustainable funding. His response acknowledged the pressures on hospices and committed to supporting them through these challenges.
Ms Uppal said: “I will continue to work with Forget Me Not and my parliamentary colleagues to push for long-term funding solutions that ensure these indispensable services remain available for families across Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and the entire country. Forget Me Not is a lifeline for families and it’s essential we do everything we can to protect the hospice sector.”
Pierce added, “The families we support are at the heart of everything we do. We are urging the community that helped us build this hospice to stand with us once again. Your generosity will ensure we can continue to provide the expert care these families can’t get anywhere else.”
How to Help:
Donations to the charity’s urgent appeal can be made by visiting www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk/donate. Other ways to help and more details on the financial crisis that Forget Me Not faces can be found at www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk.
