The recession means hospices across Sussex are facing financial crisis. Some have imposed wage freezes and one has even cut staff. Health Reporter SIOBHAN RYAN reports on the plight of hospices, which receive only a small amount of government funding, and looks into how they plan to combat the crisis.

It’s a tough time for charities, and hospices are no exception. They may be a valued and vital part of the community but over the past six months they have all noticed a worrying drop in income. The number of donations from the community is still just as high, as people give what they can but the amount they give has fallen.

The Martlets in Hove, St Barnabas House in Worthing, St Wilfrid’s in Eastbourne, St Peter and St James in Chailey, St Catherine’s in Crawley and St Michael’s in Hastings have all had to take another look at how they are run and find ways to save cash. Even the traditional methods of income such as donations from legacies have taken a hit because of the recession.

Kara Bishop, chief executive of St Wilfrid’s, said income from legacies had dropped significantly . She said: “Part of the problem is that a lot of these incomes from wills are property-related but because of the current financial situation homes are not selling.

“At one stage we were expecting around 600,000 but the sale has been held up and the value has already dropped by £150,000. It is likely to drop even more before anything goes through and so we do not get the money we were hoping for.

“If we are to keep balancing our books next year we are going to have to dip into our reserves, which is something we do not really want to do. Next year is going to be a bit difficult and we are having to be very cautious.”

Being cautious is a sentiment echoed by the other hospices, although they are determined patient services will not suffer. However, in order to achieve that they are making some difficult decisions, including axing staff or imposing pay freezes.

There is a common misconception that hospices are part of the NHS but they are not. They are charities which receive a small amount of government funding that is nowhere near enough to cover the cost of the service they provide.

The Martlets alone, which costs more than £4 million a year to run, needs to raise more than £3 million itself. The fact hospices are struggling now adds weight to the constant calls for funding to be increased but in the meantime they must tighten their belts and cope.

St Barnabas chief executive Hugh Lowson said: “We are basically running a tight ship financially and having to be extra vigilant. We can’t cut back on services and we are actually committed to expanding and developing them.

“However, we have to be really careful. We have been checking and double checking our budgets for next year and justifying everything that is going through to make sure that everything that is being spent is absolutely essential.

“Our income stream is not as high as it was and that is quite worrying. Next year is going to be even more challenging.“ The hospices efforts are now directed at making the best use of what they have, according to The Martlets fundraising manager Robert Griffiths. He said: “We are looking to maximise our income from all our activities such as our shops, events and grants and will try to provide the public with many different ways to support the hospice.

“We also have a duty to ensure that the money given by funders such as the primary care trust, charitable trusts and members of the public is spent as effectively and efficiently as possible. We will not budget for a deficit in 2009/10 and will be keeping the situation under close review, as we always do.

“St Peter and St James Hospice chief executive Colin Burgess said every effort was being made to secure funding from as many sources as possible. He said: “We are working hard to ensure we provide our hospice services as cost-effectively as possible, without detriment to the high levels of quality that we want all our patients and their families to experience.

“t the same time we are continuing to negotiate with the PCTs to try and achieve a level of funding that more closely reflects the number and range of hospital services that we provide.

The hospice facing the biggest crisis is St Michael’s, which could have a £400,000 deficit this year and has been forced to shed a dozen backroom staff jobs. The Martlets has imposed a pay freeze and St Barnabas has not ruled that out.

Unlike most of the other trusts, St Catherine’s is hoping to break even but it too knows there are tough times ahead. A spokeswoman said: “We know that this is a challenging time for our community and as a local charity we are reliant on our supporters for the lion’s share of our funding.

“We anticipate that the outlook next year will continue to be very challenging. There has never been a greater need for voluntary support for our end-of-life care and we remain extremely grateful for the unwavering support we continue to receive from local people.”