Ashgate Hospicecare's £2.4m deficit is eased by £33,500 award

A cash-stricken charity which provides care for hospice patients in north Derbyshire has been awarded a grant towards plugging a £2.4 million deficit caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Staff at the 21-bed inpatient unit at Ashgate Hospice are preparing for their most difficult winter yet and have worked on the frontline throughout the coronavirus pandemicStaff at the 21-bed inpatient unit at Ashgate Hospice are preparing for their most difficult winter yet and have worked on the frontline throughout the coronavirus pandemic
Staff at the 21-bed inpatient unit at Ashgate Hospice are preparing for their most difficult winter yet and have worked on the frontline throughout the coronavirus pandemic

Ashgate Hospicecare will receive £33,500 from Derbyshire County Council towards the running costs of its 21-bed inpatient unit, which provides complex care to those living with a life-limiting illness.

In addition to enhanced infection control costs, the grant will also be used to help fund a special Christmas Day dinner for patients.

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The award follows an application to the council’s Membership Community Leadership Scheme, which allocates a budget to each of its 64 councillors to be used to support projects in their division.

Barbara-Anne Walker, chief executive at Ashgate Hospicecare, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the support offered to us by the members of the Community Leadership Scheme. This donation will help us to continue delivering our care over the coming winter months and allow our patients and their families to make the most of the time they have together.

“Grants such as this one are gratefully received by us all at Ashgate. The grant is even more significant as we find ourselves amid a second nationwide lockdown.

“We are anxiously awaiting the decision from NHS Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) about whether they will commit to the long-term funding we urgently need to support our existing services.”

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Seven county councillors chose to allocate part of their budgets to the hospice. They were Ron Mihaly (£1,000), Jean Innes (£1,500), Stuart Brittain (£2,000), Dave Allen (£1,000), Mick Wall (£4,600), Helen Elliott (£10,000) and Sharon Blank (£13,400).

Councillor Mick Wall, deputy leader of the council’s Labour opposition, said: “When I saw the news about the financial impact that the Covid pandemic was having on Ashgate Hospice, I contacted the charity to see how we, as local councillors, could help most quickly and effectively. We had to help because we know how much Ashgate Hospice does to support and care for people in all of our local communities.”