Staffing challenges pose as much of a threat to hospice charities as the funding crisis facing the wider voluntary sector, the chief executive of Hospice UK has warned.

In an interview on the Third Sector Podcast, Toby Porter outlined the effects of increasing payroll costs combined with cost-of-living pressures eroding the appetite of hospice staff to accept lower salaries than their NHS counterparts.

“I think a dilemma for the whole voluntary sector is that perhaps 20 or 30 years ago, we benefitted from pioneers who started working in the charity sector when the cost of living was less and house prices were much lower,” Porter said.

“In hospices now, you’ll see people who are 55, 60 years old and have been working there for 30 years.

“Three or four years ago, they might have been content to nestle 5 or 8 per cent below an NHS salary, because they were OK and working in the hospice was fundamental to who they were.

“But I think you’ve got a new generation of health and care workers who just do not have that leeway,” he continued.

The Hospice UK chief said he had seen the problem extending to charities working across multiple cause areas. 

“I think the voluntary sector is hurting so much because despite the incredible commitment of our workforce. If you don’t offer good pay awards, you will not be able to retain the staff you need to run a proper service and to sustainably run a safe, ethical and well-resourced charity supporting them.”

Porter spoke of the difficult balance needing to be struck by Hospice UK between raising awareness for the stresses hospices are under and promoting its member hospices as attractive workplaces.

“I remember once a CEO of a children’s hospice said he blamed me for not being able to recruit staff, because if people are reading in the paper that services and charities are threatened with closure, they will say, I’m not sure I could risk working for a hospice.”

In spite of this, he said Hospice UK had succeeded in winning the trust of its 208 members thanks to a concerted effort to reset its member relationships and position itself as a platform bringing together some 18,000 hospice workers.

Listen to the full interview with Toby Porter on the Third Sector Podcast.