Prospect Hospice says it will have to cut the number of patients it looks after unless it raises another £600k.

The Wroughton-based charity has launched an urgent appeal to boost donations from the public after its income was hit hard by the Covid pandemic.

It says it will no longer be able to support as many patients and families who desperately need the specialist end-of-life care unless donations by the community increase by 10 per cent.

Chief executive Irene Watkins said: “Like all charities, we saw a sharp decline in income from March 2020 as our shops closed and fundraising activities were cancelled. This had a huge impact on our income which is still to recover, but we also have two further challenges.

"Our NHS funding has not changed for the last nine years, so in real terms it is worth far less today than it was nine years ago. Secondly, despite this reduced income, our services have grown to meet increasing need in the community, with more people requiring our specialist care and support.”

She said: “This decline in funding and growth in services cannot continue. We have now reached the point where we know there are already people we are unable to help and, unless we can raise the additional £600,000 a year, we will have no choice but to reduce the number of patients and families we can support even more. This is a distressing loss for those people in our community that desperately need our care and support.

“Because of our supporters in our community we are able to care for those that need us but without that support we won’t be able to help hundreds of people and their families every year.

It costs the hospice around £7.5m a year to provide care for patients and families in Swindon and north east Wiltshiren, and £5.5m of it comes from donations from the community. The remaining quarter comes from statutory sources such as the NHS.

Nancy Heath, whose BBC Radio Wiltshire journalist husband Ashley died at Prospect Hospice’s inpatient unit in January last year, said: “Ash got fabulous care – it meant I could be with him, but also have a break, knowing that he was well-cared for."

“He was very keen that I should remain his wife, not his carer, and Prospect Hospice enabled that to happen.

“Prospect Hospice really focuses on the patient and family, rather than the illness. I found it incredibly comforting to have a nurse in the room who had done all this before and could reassure me. It was so important that Ashley was listened to and died in the way he wanted to. It’s amazing that a local charity can provide such fantastic care and do so without charging a penny.”

The hospice, which has been rated outstanding by the care quality commission, was founded 42 years ago and serves more than 300k people in Swindon and north Wiltshire. It's teams give clinical, practical and emotional support to patients and their families, in the hospice itself and at home.

People can help by setting up a regular donation - £5 a month could pay for three home visits by a specialist or £10 a month could pay for a nurse’s shift on the inpatient unit.

Visit prospect-hospice.net to find out more.