East Cheshire Hospice’s new Congleton charity shop has proved an instant hit, the charity has reported.
The good news was welcome in what the hospice’s annual report has admitted had been a “tough year”, with rising costs and growing demand for care.
The annual report said that “after years of searching”, the hospice secured new retail premises in both Congleton and Knutsford. The Congleton one, at West Heath Shopping Centre, “quickly exceeded expectations”, taking £24,000 in March alone, the report said – in line with original predictions of £25,000 once the shop was fully operational.
Despite being a much larger shop than the hospice is used to, it was proving “incredibly busy” both in terms of shoppers and donations.
Fundraising income as a whole reached £2.738 million, up 16% on the previous year – but all of it needed, as the year proved “challenging”, shaped by a sluggish UK economy, rising costs and increased demand for palliative care.
The hospice delivered a small operating surplus of £1,848. After investment movements, the charity recorded an overall deficit of £19,422, a contrast to the previous year’s £1.66 million surplus.
The report said that despite the pressures, the hospice supported more people than ever before, expanded key services, completed major refurbishments and continued to “rely heavily” on the generosity of local residents, businesses, donors and volunteers.
The hospice’s clinical teams saw sustained growth in demand across all areas, with 932 patients cared-for over the year and 382 carers receiving support.
The Sunflower Living Well Centre reopened after a £1.3 million refurbishment, doubling its monthly footfall. The centre offers outpatient appointments and Living Well programmes for people living with a terminal diagnosis. The new-look centre has seen an increase in activity since relaunching and footfall has more than doubled from 179 people per month to 388.
The inpatient unit underwent a full bedroom refurbishment, including new lighting systems, patio-style doors, media walls and dementia-friendly design features.
A media wall was added to each room, housing smart televisions and shelving for patients to display their own personal trinkets and family photographs. A foldable table and chairs allow a patient’s loved ones to dine with them at mealtimes.
The Hospice @Home team made 8,500 daytime home visits, helping people receive care where they felt most comfortable.
The report said the hospice’s dementia service expanded “significantly”, with a carer well-being programme now running five full days a week.
The hospice also launched the discovery phase of Palliative Advice Centre East (PACE) — a new system-wide model aiming to give patients a single point of access to coordinated end-of-life care.
Advanced nurse practitioners, medical leads and coordinators now work alongside Hospice @Home and community teams to reduce crisis admissions and improve continuity of care.
The hospice also benefitted from a new phone system, stronger wi-fi, smart televisions and mood-lighting controls in patient rooms digital sign-in pads and electronic feedback forms and real-time data dashboards for patients and families.
All this needed money, and total costs increased by £860,000 (12%) in the year to £7,837,887. Staffing remains the single largest cost, and £576,000 of the increase in costs related to salaries, following a £500,000 rise last year. The total wages bill for the 182 staff is £5.7 million; 94 of these are clinical and patient support staff.
The increase in salary costs was driven both by the 5.5% NHS Agenda for Change pay deal announced in July 2024, which the hospice also implemented, and the additional staffing in Hospice @Home, community dementia and PACE. The increase in national insurance contributions and staffing for these services was phased throughout the year and staffing costs will increase in 2025/26 to reflect a fully staffed year, but level out into 2026/27.
The cost of raising funds also increased by £148,000 in the year, the rise reflecting the cost of the new Congleton shop and the purchase of the retail shop in Knutsford.
At 31st March 2025, the hospice held total reserves of £17 million.
Retail and fundraising raised £3.765 million, slightly above budget.
Highlights included the Christmas tree collection, which raised more than £160,000 and passed the £2 million lifetime total, with founding volunteers Pete Chapman and Richard Raymond still running the collection each year; the art fair at Macclesfield Town Hall, which raised nearly £45,000; Fashion on the Edge, which raised £32,000 and the AstraZeneca partnership, which contributed £47,821.
The handmade goods volunteers had “another amazing year”, creating knitted, sewed, crocheted, carved and lovingly created items to raise money for the hospice. Their goods are always available in reception for sale to any visitors.
The report noted that one of the highlights of the art fair was when new patrons Noddy and Suzan Holder came across a mini papier mâché version of Noddy, complete with his guitar, made by local artist Patty Callaghan. The model was snapped up by a keen buyer on the night, but the Holders were so impressed they commissioned a second version, which was then raffled off and raised more than £10,000 for the hospice.
The hospice has agreements with Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (£519,000 for care, £108,000 for drugs and £55,000 for other costs) and Derbyshire board (£20,000) for contributions to the provision of 24-hour specialist palliative care for patients and families in the East Cheshire region and for drugs. The hospice’s service area extends to parts of Derbyshire.
