The Charity Commission confirms review into hospice

The Charity Commission has announced a review into a hospice in Derbyshire after concerns were raised over its financial position.

Ashgate Hospice, in Chesterfield, warned it would need to scale back services in October in a bid to save more than £2.6m.

The commission confirmed on Thursday that it had opened a regulatory compliance case on the service, which is designed to review concerns.

A hospice spokesperson said the organisation "welcomed" the process as it wanted to "draw a clear line under misinformation" and reassure that its finances were managed responsibly.

The end-of-life care service announced in October that 52 roles were at risk of redundancy, and warned it would have to scale back services to save more than £2.6m, citing inflation, rising energy bills, and staff salaries as contributors to rising running costs.

It confirmed on Christmas Eve that 19 roles across clinical and support teams had been made redundant.

The charity said there had been a "significant amount of speculation and unfounded accusations" made against it recently.

A spokesperson said: "We hope this process will help draw a clear line under misinformation and provide reassurance about how we manage our finances responsibly and how we are working hard to protect the long-term future of the hospice."

The spokesperson added that Ashgate, like many other hospices, had faced "extremely difficult decisions" due to financial challenges, which included a funding gap between NHS funding and the cost of providing specialist end-of-life and palliative care.

A spokesperson for The Charity Commission said: "Concerns have been raised with us about Ashgate Hospice care relating to its financial position. As a result, we have opened a regulatory compliance case to explore these matters further."

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