Prospect Hospice have just announced that one of their two shops on Marlborough High Street will be closed, the final day being Saturday 06 September. This is their shop that nestles between TG Jones (WHSmith until last week) and The Royal Oak.
Why? A spokesperson for Prospect said: “The decision to close has not been an easy one, but continued financial pressures across the charity sector, including rising costs and changing shopping habits, mean we have to focus our resources where they can have the greatest impact on funding patient
care.”
Stuart Necrews, Head of Commercial Income at Prospect Hospice, added: “We are so thankful to the staff, volunteers, donors and customers who have supported this shop over the years. Closing the doors is not a decision we wanted to make, but it is a necessary one to ensure we can continue providing outstanding care to local people at the end of their lives.”
This Prospect shop has been a core feature of the High Street for many, many years and was one of the first charity shops in Marlborough so the closure will be a sad loss.
Prospect Hospice, along with the rest of the Hospice movement in this country are finding conditions very difficult financially. This isn’t Prospect saying this, it’s common to all of these vitally important elements within the caring and health system of this country.
Hospices care for end of life. Every other part of our health system is funded by the NHS. In many cases completely, or at least operationally. Whilst Hospices have to support themselves through raising money – shops, donations, sponsored events and much more – central funding accounts for barely a quarter of what they need to function and provide this irreplaceable service. The rest comes from their own fundraising activities. Recently costs have escalated sharply whilst income has proven difficult to increase. Staffing, property, energy and more. The same as for almost any other organisation, but as the community at large also face the cost of living increases, what they can give also suffers. And this sets the Hospice movement apart.
There is a core irony to this: the NHS is meant to be a cradle to grave service for us all. In actual fact, it’s ‘pre-cradle’ with the antenatal services but somehow it isn’t there completely for end of life. The Hospice movement, the organisations that deliver such a delicate and emotionally charged service to us all are mainly excluded from the health service, financially. This isn’t the place for this debate but it is one that needs to be aired.
In the meantime Marlborough’s Prospect shop will close next month, something that could affect each and every one of us, at some point.
Marlborough’s campsite at Postern Hill to close at the end of the season
