Demand for hospice services in Yeovil will rocket

THOUSANDS more people across Yeovil and Somerset are going to be needing the services of St Margaret’s Hospice in the future.

Results from a new national survey have confirmed what St Margaret’s has been saying since 2010 – that its service delivery has to change to accommodate the rising number of people who need hospice care in the years ahead.

PHOTO - ABOVE: The tranquil setting of St Margaret's Hospice in Yeovil.

The new survey, carried out by leading pollster Populus, showed that seven in ten people think demand for hospice care will “rocket” in coming decades because of the UK’s rapidly ageing population and many are worried about its future availability.

• 48 per cent surveyed said they were concerned there won’t be enough hospice care available to support them or loved ones.
• 16 per cent are “frightened” there won’t be enough specialist care available in the future.
• 76 per cent think that hospices will have to work more in partnership with other healthcare providers to meet the demand of UK’s ageing population.
• 22 per cent did not know that hospice care is available in people’s homes.

St Margaret’s chief executive, Jon Andrewes, said: “This survey reaffirms what we have believed for a long time at St Margaret’s – that the growing demand will need to be accommodated by a new way of delivering our services; we are already moving towards this.

“Over the last few years we have been looking at this challenge and have already begun to train our staff to be able to deliver the level of care in the community that we already give in the inpatient units of our two hospices at Yeovil and Taunton.

“We are building the community service to cover 24 hours-a-day, 365 days of the year and we are working with our partners in other charities and the NHS to ensure that this care will be delivered seamlessly.

“It is essential – but it will not come cheaply.”

Mr Andrewes added: “In the next 20 years Somerset’s need is predicted to rise from 5,000 per annum with palliative care needs to 15,000.”

The survey’s findings are published as a new report by the Commission into the Future of Hospice Care highlights the challenges facing hospices over the next ten to 15 years.

The number of people aged 85 and over, for example, is expected to double in the next 20 years, while the number of young people with life-limiting conditions who receive hospice care is also increasing.

PHOTO ABOVE - People are going to live longer in the years ahead and that will put pressure on hospice care services in Somerset.

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