Burnham admits state not doing enough for hospices

The Prime Minister made the comments in an exclusive interview with the Leigh Journal during a visit to Wigan & Leigh Hospice in Hindley yesterday (August 22).

Mr Burnham was there in his capacity as the MP for Makerfield, meeting patients, staff, volunteers and trustees and hearing about the care provided to people across the borough.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to the Leigh Journal's Conaill Corner while visiting Wigan & Leigh Hospice (Image: Supplied)

The tight schedule was evident as Mr Burnham’s staff tried to keep him moving between meetings. However, he remained engaged with the conversations, listening to the people in front of him rather than appearing eager to move on.

One member of his team remarked: “He just loves talking to people.”

The visit came as Wigan & Leigh Hospice campaigns for a fairer and more sustainable funding settlement.

Mr Burnham told the Leigh Journal that hospices had traditionally relied on a mixture of public funding and support from their local communities.

But he said the state needed to do more.

“The state has to play its part properly in that mix. And I think it’s fair to say it isn’t at the moment.”

He said he did not believe hospices necessarily needed to become entirely state-funded, adding: “I don’t even think the hospices are saying 'we want to be fully state-funded,' because that would change what they do.

“In my view, a mix of funding is not necessarily a bad thing.”

But he said the current system needed greater security.

“It’s always been too ad hoc, hospice, and we need to put it on a firmer footing.”

Mr Burnham said he would make the case for Wigan & Leigh Hospice to local commissioners and Greater Manchester NHS.

He said: “I’m here as the local MP, and, just as any local MP has to do, I have to make the argument for them as an organisation, to the local bodies, local commissioners and Greater Manchester NHS.”

He said he would listen to the hospice team and take its concerns away to see what could be done.

Andy Burnham speaks to patients and staff at Wigan & Leigh Hospice (Image: Wigan & Leigh Hospice)

The hospice has received more than 170 messages from local people as part of its 'Dear Prime Minister' campaign, with supporters explaining what its care has meant to them and why they want to see fairer funding.

Mr Burnham also praised the nature of the care provided by hospices, describing it as “whole person care”.

He said: “What they do here is whole person care, in a way that the NHS is just not set up to do.”

He said hospice care was focused not only on the patient, but on their family and the individual circumstances they were facing.

The issue of assisted dying also came up during the interview.

Mr Burnham said he did not believe changes to the law should come before the hospice movement had been properly secured.

He said: “I don’t think, personally, we can go and change the law in that very, very delicate and difficult space before we’ve properly secured the hospice movement across the UK.”

He added: “And that’s the order in which I put those things.”

Mr Burnham has known Wigan & Leigh Hospice for more than 25 years, dating back to when he was previously the MP for Leigh.

Reflecting on its development, he said he had seen the organisation grow from the early days of hospice-at-home care into a service with a much wider reach across the borough.

He described the hospice as “a rock at the heart of the borough”, adding: “I don’t know what we would do without Wigan & Leigh Hospice in this borough.”

During the visit, Mr Burnham toured the hospice and met nurses, doctors, trustees, volunteers and support staff.

Wigan & Leigh Hospice chief executive Jo Carby said the charity was “delighted” to welcome Mr Burnham and introduce him to the people behind its care.

She said: “Our staff and volunteers work tirelessly to support local families, and it meant a great deal to share their experiences - along with the heartfelt messages sent in by his constituents - showing the difference hospice care makes in our community.”

Wigan & Leigh Hospice provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care for people across the Wigan borough.

Mr Burnham’s visit came in his capacity as the MP for Makerfield.