Rowcroft Hospice, which provides vital care for the terminally ill in south Devon, is facing a cash crisis as it is forced to look at making more than £1m of savings in the next four months.

Bosses say they are faced with scaling back hospice operations in order to protect its long-term future – which is likely to result in reduced bed numbers and cuts in some services.

And they blame a fall in legacies left to the charity, the financial pressures on the NHS and an increase in demand for its services.

Acting chief executive Jon Hill said: ‘We have experienced a significant reduction in our legacy income and have been unsuccessful in negotiating an increase in the recurring funding we receive from the NHS.

‘This coupled with an increase in competition within the charity sector and a growing demand for the hospice’s services has led to our current situation.

‘Unfortunately, we are not alone, hospices across the country have been reporting funding shortfalls and risks to services.’

It costs the hospice, based in Avenue Road, Torquay, more than £8m a year to provide its services and of this almost three-quarters is funded through donations and legacies. The NHS provides funding for the remaining 27 per cent of the costs.

Rowcroft has significantly increased the number of patients and families it cares for in recent years – to more than 2,200 in 2015 while services such as Hospice at Home have expanded to provide 24/7 care to patients in their own homes.

Mr Hill added: ‘Unfort­un­ately, despite our best efforts and a 13 per cent growth in fundraising income, our income has not grown quickly enough to enable us to sustain all of our services.

‘This coupled with an unexpected downturn in legacy income has meant the hospice has to make substantial cuts in order to secure its long term future.’

The hospice says the cost reduction is planned with the objective of minimising the impact on patients, as far as is possible.

It will be achieved through service redesign, retaining the ongoing objective of providing more services in patient’s homes, balanced with the ability to provide a complex care in-patient facility on the main hospice site, albeit with likely reduced bed numbers.

Some of the hospice’s services will have to be scaled back and there is a proposal for the chronic oedema clinic, which supports patients with lymphoedema, to no longer be provided through the hospice.

The hospice is currently in detailed discussions with the local NHS to find an alternative solution for patients currently attending this clinic.

Dr George Walker, clinical director, added: ‘Over the last few years we’ve had to make significant investment in our services in order to meet the needs and growing demand of our local community.

‘The number of patients and families we care for has more than doubled in the last ten years.

‘The cases we see are increasingly complex, leading to the necessity for increased staffing levels, thereby incurring higher costs.

‘Our first priority is to our patients and we are doing everything we can to protect the future of the hospice which has touched the lives of thousands of people since it was established in 1982.

‘Making cuts to our services has always been the absolute last resort but we now know we have no other option.’

Since 1982, Rowcroft has provided free of charge care to patients, their families and carers wherever support is required – within its inpatient unit, outpatient centre or in the wider community.

Its care provision was recently rated ‘outstanding’ by a Care Quality Comm­iss­ion inspection.

Rowcroft is urging people to support the hospice in whatever way they can; from making a regular or one-off donation, to playing the hospice’s lottery or donating to Rowcroft’s shops.

Rachael Bryett, head of fundraising at Rowcroft, said: ‘Our local community’s support has never been more vital.

‘Just £5 a month will help to safeguard Row­croft’s future.

‘The best way to do this is by making a regular, monthly donation, as this is a sustainable, predictable and reliable source of income for us.

‘However, anything you might be able to offer, no matter how big or small, would be hugely valuable and will help us to continue to provide our essential care to our patients and their families right now.’

More information about how you can help to support the charity and the services it offers can be found on the website http://www.rowcrofthospice.org.uk/