VALIANT fundraisers who raised thousands of pounds for Havens hospices have come together to highlight its “invaluable” work as rising costs and a lack of funding leave the UK’s hospices in their “worst state for 20 years”. 

Havens hospices, which supports both Fair Havens in Southend and Little Havens in Thundersley, revealed that demand for its free care increased by a third over the past year.

It comes after a study from Hospices UK showed a fifth of hospices around the country have had to cut their services in the last year due to “modest” state funding.

In light of the news, fundraisers have come forward to share their experiences with the “remarkable” hospice and say losing it would be “unthinkable.”

Lee Allen, 57, has raised more than £40,000 for the charity and highlighted how crucial they are to the community.

Crucial: Lee says the hospice is invaluable to the community.Crucial: Lee says it would be unthinkable to lose the hospice one day. (Image: Lee Allen)

He said: “I started fundraising for Havens in 1996 after they provided end of life care to my friend. I try and run the London marathon for them every year.

“They provided fantastic support to my friend and his family and looked after them amazingly well.

“They are a remarkable charity and are absolutely crucial to the community. I can’t put into words how important they are and it is so terrible that despite all they do, they are still struggling with funds.

“They deserve to get a lot more funding from the government for the amount of families they help. 

“It is unthinkable to think we could lose them one day.”

Havens Hospices’ thanked fundraisers for their kindness and generosity and revealed they need to raise more than £124,000 a week to be there for everyone who needs them.

Lee Clark, who has raised £20,000 for the hospices, says the community needs to do everything possible to support the charity during this difficult time.

“They need our help and support more than ever and it’s a sad situation that they are in,” he added.

“I started fundraising for them in 2013 after they took care of a colleague of mine towards the end of her life. It was then that I witnessed the amazing work they do first hand.

“They treat and help so many people and their families and are a pillar in our community. It’s really sad how underfunded they are. The one thing no one wants to see is the charity being forced to close down. I am in awe of everything they do.”

Kat and Nick Wright made a generous donation to Little Havens which cared for their son Noah, who died aged four in 2020.

Kat said: “We really hope by fundraising and paying for a day of care at Little Havens that, with Noah’s legacy, we are helping other families who need the support of the hospice.”

Hospice UK is now urging members of the public to write to their local MP calling for increased government support for hospices.

Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said: “Too many hospices are in crisis. The small and wildly variable amount of state funding they receive has failed to keep pace with rising costs.

“We’re already seeing redundancies at some major hospices, usually those serving communities in more deprived parts of the UK, where charitable fundraising is harder. At Hospice UK, we fear more will follow.”