Derbyshire council outlines annual £100,000 funding boost for hospice care for four years
A Derbyshire council has outlined plans for £100,000 of annual funding support every year for four years for a struggling hospice to expand its end-of-life community care for those wishing to be looked after at home.
Bolsover District Council’s Executive approved an outline of the plans, at a meeting on July 27, to support Chesterfield-based Ashgate Hospice’s Clinical Community Care service expansion for residents in the Bolsover district.
A council spokesperson stated: “Ashgate Hospice provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care to people with life-limiting illnesses across North Derbyshire, including residents of Bolsover district.
“The clinical community care service enables patients to receive high quality, specialist end-of-life care within their own homes, where this reflects their wishes and clinical needs.
“The service also provides practical and emotional support to families and carers, helping people remain in familiar surroundings while receiving compassionate, dignified care.”
Bolsover District Council has recognised that the demand for community-based palliative care continues to increase due to demographic changes and the increasing complexity of needs and pressures across health and social care services.
Its funding allocation of £100,000 per year for four years will support the continued delivery and development of the clinical community care service for Bolsover district residents.
The contribution was already included as part of the council’s approved Medium Term Financial Plan in January with £100,000 to be allocated to the hospice for each of the remaining four years of the MTFP between 2026/27 – 2029/30.
But the latest meeting updated councillors on how the money will be used by Ashgate Hospice after discussions with the charity’s Chief Executive.
The funding will go towards staffing, clinical support, patient care, volunteer co-ordination, and associated operational costs necessary to maintain the service.
Bolsover District Council recognises the significant contribution made by Ashgate Hospice in improving the quality of life for residents and in supporting families during some of the most difficult periods of their lives.
A council spokesperson added: “The council recognises the value of high-quality end-of-life care delivered within patients’ homes. The Clinical Community Care Service supports residents to remain in their preferred place of care while reducing unnecessary hospital admissions where clinically appropriate.
“The proposed funding demonstrates the council’s commitment to supporting vulnerable residents, improving health and wellbeing, and working collaboratively with key partners.
“A four-year funding commitment provides greater financial certainty for Ashgate Hospice and supports longer-term planning.”
The council’s Executive formally approved that the council’s Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Portfolio Holder for Resources, enters into a funding agreement with Ashgate Hospice with an annual performance and monitoring report detailing the use of the funding, service activity and outcomes every year.
Council Leader, Councillor Jane Yates, said: “I think all of us as Councillors have residents within our different wards who tell us how much Ashgate Hospice has supported their families when they needed it most, and, when the hospice’s financial pressures were made public at the end of last year, how much they wanted the hospice to receive the financial support it so desperately needed.
“Our discussions with the hospice focussed on the fact that although some patients prefer an inpatient setting, the majority prefer to receive support to spend their final days in their own home.
“This funding will be used for the benefit of residents across the whole of the Bolsover District, and their families, at a time they most need support.
“To help enable our residents to receive dignified care in a home setting is something I feel very strongly about, and I’m pleased we were able to bring this report to the Executive.”
Ashgate Hospice, on Ashgate Road, at Old Brampton, stated that with the support of Derbyshire’s MPs, the former Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock, and NHS England, it managed to secure a separate overall 12-month funding settlement from the local NHS for 2026/7 in May 2026.
This followed a difficult time at the end of 2025, according to the hospice, when it had to announce changes to jobs and services and enter into a consultation period.
The hospice says it is continuing to work with Hospice UK to support the Government’s plans for a change to a new Modern Service Framework to end what it regards as a national postcode lottery for hospice funding.
It claimed in October, 2025, that funding for specialist end of life care across Derbyshire is unfair because in the south of the county, specialist end-of-life care is fully funded by the NHS, but in North Derbyshire Ashgate Hospice has been forced to raise donations to cover the same care.