A hospice charity facing an “immense funding challenge” could make about 15% of its workforce redundant as part of plans to secure a sustainable future.
This week, Princess Alice Hospice announced that it had started a staff consultation on proposals including fewer leadership, management and support roles.
The charity, which employed 434 people in the year to March 2025, said 62 roles are at risk, with its senior team proposing to reduce from seven posts to five.
To secure a sustainable future, it said it needs to reduce its running costs by £3.5m a year from April 2027.
“We looked first at our own leadership, management and support costs, including the senior team, and we’re proposing significant reductions in leadership and management roles,” it said.
“That alone isn’t enough, so, reluctantly, we’re also proposing changes to some of our care services.”
Princess Alice Hospice was established in 1985 and cares for people before, during and after death across the London boroughs of Kingston and Richmond and a large part of Surrey.
Its latest accounts show that it recorded a deficit of £1.4m in 2024-25, with its total income amounting to £19.1m.
Costs rising
Princess Alice Hospice spends around £13m a year on care, with £10m generated by its communities. The NHS covers 23% of its care costs, while government funding covers around 40%.
Nigel Seymour, the charity’s chief executive, said this is “one of the most financially challenging periods in our 40-year history”.
“As a charity founded and funded by its community, we’ve seen the impact the cost of living has had on people,” he said.
“While our community’s generosity isn’t diminished, their ability to give is.”
Seymour said the charity’s shops have had a “difficult” year, and gifts in wills “have been significantly lower than expected, both last year and this year”.
The charity’s accounts show that its shops made a net contribution of nearly £508,000 in 2024-25, down from just over £950,000.
Meanwhile, its legacy income, which represents 45% of its total income, fell year-on-year from £5.51m to £4.91m.
At the same time, Seymour said the cost of employing people and running the hospice keeps rising.
“Employer national insurance changes alone add around £450,000 a year and the national living wage, together with rising inflation, have added significantly to that,” he said.
Six in 10 hospices considering cuts
Umbrella body Hospice UK said in a statement: “This is deeply upsetting news for Princess Alice and their local community, and our thoughts are with everyone affected.
“No hospice wants to find itself in this position, making difficult decisions and placing hugely valued and dedicated colleagues at risk of redundancy.
“Yet this is the situation many hospices have faced in recent years as it becomes increasingly hard for them to bridge the gap between government funding and running costs.
“Princess Alice is sadly far from alone in having to scale back services – nearly six in 10 hospices have made or are planning cuts to frontline services this year.
“Hospice services are diminishing, right as demand for their care is rising.
“This cannot continue, the way hospices are funded must change to protect communities from cuts to their essential care”.
Princess Alice Hospice’s staff consultation closes on 18 December.
