How we’re funded - and why we need your support

At Ashgate Hospice, we provide expert palliative and end of life care to the people of North Derbyshire, free of charge. We’re here to offer compassion, dignity and support when it matters most. 

We’re proud to have been rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission in March 2025, a testament to the exceptional care our teams provide every day. 

The NHS only pay for half of the cost of the care that they ask us to provide, and that amount is going down in real terms each year as costs rise. Meanwhile the same specialist end of life care is fully funded by the NHS in South Derbyshire. The NHS doesn’t pay for everything they ask us to provide, which means we have to raise millions of pounds each year just to keep going.

How we raise our money 

When compared to other hospices of similar size, Ashgate ranks amongst the highest in income generation from both our retail and fundraising efforts. 

In 2024/25, thanks to the incredible generosity of our community and the hard work of our team, we had a record-breaking year for fundraising and retail income, raising almost £10 million. But however hard we work, it’s still not enough. Historically, the income we generate not only covers the full cost of running our shops and fundraising activities but also helps to plug the gap between the true cost of care and the NHS funding we receive. 

While we expect our income generation to continue growing in the long term, rising costs, including increases in the minimum wage, national insurance, and materials, present significant challenges. With the funding gap widening, we face increasing financial pressure. Without a greater and fairer contribution from the NHS, it will become impossible for our fundraising and retail teams to bridge this gap on their own.

The postcode lottery – and a growing funding gap 

There’s an unfair postcode lottery in Derbyshire when it comes to hospice funding. 

In South Derbyshire, the NHS fully funds specialist palliative and end of life care. Here in North Derbyshire, we provide the same specialist care, but have to fundraise to make up the difference between what the NHS gives us and how much the care costs to provide. 

Our community shouldn’t have to raise millions each year to enable their hospice to care for the people important to them, friends, family, neighbours, at the end of life. 

Our funding gap is widening, with costs rising and NHS funding falling further behind. 

Maternity care is fully funded — why not palliative care? 

We believe not funding end of life care properly is deeply unfair. It’s not right.  

Maternity care is fully funded by the NHS, as it should be. We wouldn’t expect new parents to hold bake sales or run marathons to pay for the care and support they need. 

So why is it different for palliative and end of life care? 

Everyone deserves compassion, dignity and expert care, whether they are just starting life or nearing its end. This should never depend on where they live, or their ability to fundraise. 

The funding gap — and why it matters 

We rely heavily on the generosity of our community, through fundraising, donations, shopping in our shops or simply sharing our story, to provide our care. 

Every year, we need to raise around £11 million but rising costs, growing demand and unfair NHS funding are creating a growing funding gap. 

Because of this, our financial reserves, the safety net we need for the future, are now running very low. This isn’t sustainable in the long term. 

Already, we have empty beds in our Inpatient Unit that we simply don’t have the funds to open. Meanwhile, there are people who need our care, both on the ward and in the community, who aren’t able to access it. We don’t think that’s right. 

What we’re doing about it 

We’re calling for a fairer, more sustainable funding arrangement from the NHS, for Ashgate, for our community and for future generations. 

• Our Chief Executive, Barbara-Anne Walker, and the leadership team are meeting with health leaders to ask the NHS to pay us fairly. 

• We’re working with Derbyshire’s MPs and Hospice UK to make the case for change locally and nationally. 

• And we’re sharing the stories of the people we care for, putting a human face on these funding challenges. 

We have now launched our Act Now for Ashgate campaign calling for our community to urgently stand with us as we fight for fair funding for specialist end of life care across Derbyshire.

We are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support Ashgate receives from our local community. We simply couldn’t provide the care we do without you, and we will never take your kindness for granted.