Woking MP Will Forster has warned that terminally ill patients across the county are facing cuts to vital hospice care.

In a joint statement with Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) and Zöe Franklin (Guildford), the Liberal Democrat MPs are backing a Lib Dem campaign in Parliament to save local hospices, warning that many “are on the brink of collapse unless Government ministers step in now”.

The warning comes amid reports that two in five hospices nationally are planning cuts this year, with 50 per cent of children’s hospices saying they may reduce or even stop providing end-of-life care altogether if new funding is not guaranteed within six months.

More than half of hospices ended the 2024-25 financial year in deficit, with one in five seeing a deficit of over £1m.

Sector hospice leaders are cautioning that “time is running out” for hospices across England.

The Liberal Democrats are putting pressure on health secretary Wes Streeting to step in. They have launched a campaign to “save our hospices”, with calls to end the postcode lottery of care by allocating funding based on need, and for protected ring-fenced funding for children’s hospices.

They are also demanding that April’s national insurance hike, which has cost hospices £34m, be urgently reversed, and for additional support to protect bereavement services.

The party’s care spokesperson Alison Bennett will table a Bill in Parliament as part of the campaign, to guarantee universal access to hospices and require the Secretary of State to come clean on the current gap in hospice funding.

Ms Maguire, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for primary care and cancer, said: “Hospices in Surrey are at breaking point, while across the country staff are laid off and beds closed.

“In my constituency, a local family told me of their struggle to access hospice care for a loved one with a terminal illness. Despite their efforts, no hospice place was available, and delays in pain relief made their loved one’s final days distressing – something that could have been alleviated with better funding and coordination for end-of-life services.

“The Government must step in and answer our calls to protect children’s hospice funding, reverse the National Insurance hike and make sure funding always matches local need.

“No one should face their final days in pain, on a busy hospital ward, or in isolation because Government ministers are asleep at the wheel.”

Mark Byrne, CEO of Woking & Sam Beare Hospice, said: “Woking & Sam Beare Hospice acknowledges the extremely challenging funding environment hospices in the UK currently face.

“Recent budget changes introduced by the Government have placed additional fiscal constraints on our ability to deliver our services to the community of North West Surrey.

“However, we have made significant efforts to continue our ambition to deliver a nationally leading palliative and end-of-life care clinical service for our patients and their families.

“Our current clinical services will continue and we are confident with an improved funding model from the Government we could grow our services significantly and play our part in reducing acute hospital and primary care pressures locally.”