Hospice Care Week 2025
Taking place from October 6 - 12 this year's theme will be hospice care is more than you think.
Led by the national charity Hospice UK, Hospice Care Week is about celebrating the work of hospices all across the UK.
Across the UK, hospices like St Nicholas Hospice Care are there for people who need palliative and end of life care, day in, day out. Whether on our wards, in the community, or in people’s homes, our teams work tirelessly to ensure that those we support are comfortable and able to live well in the time they have left.
But hospice care is about so much more than managing pain and symptoms. It’s about the things that make life meaningful for each person and their family, helping people do what they love, even when illness makes it difficult. Whether it’s a trip to a favourite café, watching a sports match, visiting the beach, or simply enjoying time in their own garden, we strive to help people live well, wherever they choose to be.
Hospice UK's national campaign: write to your local MP
To draw attention to Hospice Care Week, we’ll be joining hospices across the country and writing to our local MPs, encouraging them to visit a recreated hospice at home in Westminster on October 15.
Your voice can also make a difference, so join with us to speak up for hospices and act today by writing to your MP to help us make hospice care impossible to ignore. Click on the link below to find contact details for our local MPs, plus a template letter you can use, if its helpful.
Find out more and support us by writing to your MP
Funding hospice care: why your support matters
It costs around £9.5 million a year to run our Hospice, with a daily cost of care exceeding £26,000. Even with NHS and ICB support, we face a daily funding gap of over £18,000,meaning every contribution is vital to sustaining our services.
Only 36% of our income comes from NHS/ICB funding; the rest comes from fundraising, trading, and legacies. Every bake sale, charity shop donation, marathon runner, lottery player, and gift in a will helps us continue to provide care for our community.
Last year, we joined Hospice UK in campaigning for better funding across the sector. Thanks to this, we successfully increased our ICB funding, supporting developments such as additional inpatient beds and the launch of our out-of-hours pilot.
Looking ahead, new agreements will ensure continued support for our services in Thetford, recognising the importance of our presence in that community.
We’re working towards a balanced budget over the next three years, aiming to align our income with our spending, without relying on our reserves. This commitment means reviewing how we operate, making thoughtful changes, and building a sustainable future for the Hospice and the people we serve.
The impact we make
Over the past year, St Nicholas Hospice Care supported 16% more people, a testament to the dedication of our staff and volunteers, and the growing need for our services in the community. We’re committed to developing our services, widening access to hospice care, and supporting our teams with the capacity and tools they need to deliver excellent care.
Building for the future
Our priority remains building a reliable financial foundation. We must continue to match income and expenditure, plan carefully, and work together to ensure long-term stability for St Nicholas Hospice Care and those who rely on us.