Could 2026 Be the Turning Point for Palliative Care?

 

 

 

2026 finds UK hospices at a crossroads. Caught between the critical delivery of palliative care and the prospect of cuts to essential services, hospice leaders are now having to adapt. But with resident wellbeing and dignity in mind, CareHomeLife asks: could 2026 be the year in which palliative care finally receives the focus it rightly deserves?

Each year, UK hospices provide palliative and end of life care to around 310,000 people¹, ensuring comfort, dignity and quality of life in their final months and years. Around 170 adult hospices can be found in England alone, with a further 40 dedicated to the support of children and young people with life-limiting conditions such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and brain or spinal injuries². However, the number of children in need of hospice care has tripled over the past 20 years, rising to around 99,000 in 2025³.

This same trend can be seen in adults. People are living longer, many with chronic and increasingly complex conditions, meaning the need for specialist palliative and end of life care is growing. Naturally, this places additional pressure on the hospices themselves. Hospice UK recently revealed that as many as two in five hospices cut services in 2025⁴. In fact, almost 20% of England’s 2,000 hospice beds are unable to be used due to financial pressures⁵. It’s no surprise then, that December 2025 saw more people receiving end of life care in hospital settings.

Add to this, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which is currently working its way through the House of Lords. Light on detail, the Bill has yet to specify where assisted dying would take place or how it would be funded. According to Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, the Bill poses uncomfortable questions for us all: “Hospices spend £1.2 billion per year directly on care, of which only £485 million is funded by the government. As a society, are we willing to accept a state funded assisted dying service when so much essential end of life care is reliant on charity?”

Clearly, this is a complex, live issue with few easy answers – but we mustn’t lose sight of what matters most: the quality of care for those with life-limiting conditions, and the support available to loved ones and care teams alike. So, what is being done to futureproof palliative care?

Gauging the Government’s Response

For its part, the Department of Health and Social Care has been unequivocal in its support for UK hospices. In 2024, the government unveiled the biggest investment package for hospices in a generation: £100 million to deliver major upgrades and enhancements to facilities across England. In the months since, a further £80 million has been pledged to support children’s and young people’s hospices in England over a three-year period as part of the community-focused NHS 10-Year Health Plan.

Collectively, this funding will ensure residents have the opportunity to live in warmer, more welcoming surroundings alongside caregivers who are empowered to deliver the highest quality of care. But short-term investment can only go so far. What hospices need now is consistency: “Recent short-term funding for hospices in England, Scotland and Wales has been a genuine help,” says Toby Porter, “but as costs continue to snowball and demand keeps rising, hospices can’t keep up and many are making or considering cuts.”

The government’s ability to track how palliative care funding is used has also been called into question, with the National Audit Office emphasising the need for accurate data. Without these metrics, how can the government assess the current state of palliative and end of life care – including the dignity and wellbeing of those receiving it?

A Vision for Holistic Care

So, what’s the alternative? With UK hospices under mounting pressure, the wider care sector has a greater role to play in making palliative care services accessible to more people. It’s an opportunity to deliver a holistic vision of care: one that encompasses the entire journey, from short-term respite and specialist complex care services to long-term palliative and end of life care.

On the surface, this is nothing new. Palliative care has long been a mainstay of the UK care sector. But if care providers intend to meaningfully bridge the hospice gap, they may need to go further to raise awareness and challenge people’s perceptions.

We know from experience that many providers offer the same high standard of palliative care that hospices do – ensuring peace and comfort for residents and, by extension, their loved ones when it’s needed most. But hospices and homes remain the preference for many, and this has created an unnecessary bottleneck. The UK is recognised as having one of the finest palliative care workforces in the world today – and it’s time we celebrate that fact and ensure everyone knows that hospices are far from the only avenue.

And for those providers not currently offering end of life care, opportunities for specialist training are taking shape. December 2025 saw the launch of the North West’s Hospice and Palliative Care Academy, which aims to foster a wider workforce capable of meeting the current and future needs of palliative care. By bringing together the Universities of Lancashire and Cumbria, along with ten regional hospices, it’s hoped that the Academy will serve as a central hub for learning nationwide.

As Gillian Oakley, Senior Lecturer in Palliative Care at the University of Lancashire, explains: “Workforce shortages and the absence of defined career pathways in hospice care present ongoing challenges to attract and retain staff and this is something we’re tackling head-on through the Academy.”

Ultimately, it’s the residents’ perspective that matters most – and a holistic approach to palliative care can make all the difference. Consistency allows residents to build rapport and establish trust with caregivers throughout their care journey, sometimes over a period of years – ensuring they are surrounded by warm, familiar faces in comforting settings as their time nears.

Preserving Palliative and End of Life Care

Palliative and end of life care is deeply personal. At times, it can be life-affirming – connecting people with their loved ones, their carers and the world around them. But it can also be emotionally, physically and spiritually draining. This is what makes sympathetic and nurturing spaces so important. Without sustained investment, hospices won’t be able to provide the same level of specialist care our loved ones deserve – and with demand growing steadily, consistent funding is needed now more than ever.

In the meantime, more people will look to care homes to deliver the same high standard of specialist palliative and end of life care. But this is an opportunity for caregivers to provide the kind of holistic end-to-end care that gives residents the comfort, consistency and reassurance they need. In 2026, everyone should have the right to compassionate end of life care. We can do better – and with the support of the wider care community, we have the ability to do exactly that.

Support Hospice UK with a donation by visiting hospiceuk.org/support-us/donate. Additionally, to find out how CareHomeLife partners with the care community to support palliative and end of life care, visit carehomelife.co.uk/.

 

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¹ Key facts about hospice care, Hospice UK

² Biggest investment into hospices in a generation, GOV UK

³ £80 million support for children’s hospices over 3 years, GOV UK

⁴ 2 in 5 hospices planning to make cuts this year, Hospice UK

⁵ Hundreds of hospice beds unused amid financial crisis, BBC News