Dr Kershaw's backs Hospice UK campaign to highlight gifts in Wills

With two in five UK hospices planning to make cuts due to a lack of funding, Dr Kershaw’s Hospice has partnered with Hospice UK to highlight the critical impact of gifts in Wills.

The award-winning ‘This is Hospice Care’ campaign has returned for its second year, with radio and television adverts airing from yesterday (Monday, February 16). 

Showcasing the breadth of hospice care through real-life inspired stories, the campaign aims to increase awareness of legacies to protect hospice services for future generations. 

In 2024-25, hospices across the UK provided palliative and end-of-life care to 310,000 people, yet one in four people currently die without the care and support they need (Marie Curie, 2025). 

By 2048, demand for palliative care is set to rise by 25 per cent, placing increasing pressure on already struggling hospice services. 

To ensure that people can die with dignity, Dr Kershaw’s Hospice has joined a coalition of 127 hospices across England, Scotland and Wales. 

Through highlighting the enormous impact that leaving a donation in a Will can have, it hopes to inspire its supporters to make hospice care part of their legacy. 

John Edwards, Legacy and Grants Fundraising Lead at Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, is on the steering group for the Hospice UK campaign. 

He said: “A lot of people don’t know that hospices provide their care for free. Around 20 per cent of our total income actually comes from legacy gifts. Without gifts in Wills, we simply would not be able to provide the high-quality, compassionate care that we do. 

“Our care extends far beyond our inpatient unit and wellbeing centre; we are out in the community with our Caring Hands and Hospice at Home services. Gifts in Wills protect future care, enabling people to choose where they spend their final days.” 

Dr Kershaw’s Hospice itself was made possible through a legacy left by Dr John Kershaw (1840-1909), a Lees-born GP who dreamed of opening a hospital in Royton. 

After originally operating as a cottage hospital in the 1930s, it was later developed as a hospice and opened its doors in 1989. Since then, it has provided palliative and end-of-life care for thousands of people across Oldham and its surrounding areas. 

This includes Brian Swann, who spent his last Father’s Day on the hospice’s inpatient unit before sadly dying of cancer in June 2022. His daughter, Susan McEwan, is now backing the Hospice UK campaign, explaining: “Since dad died, I wanted to support the hospice in any way I could. 

“I signed up as a lottery member and have made Light Up a Life dedications in his memory, and we asked people to donate to Dr Kershaw’s at his funeral in lieu of flowers. 

“I hope that by supporting the hospice, it will continue to be there for other families. That is why leaving a gift in your Will is so important; even one per cent of your Will would make a real difference. 

“It would help the hospice to continue to provide special care and precious memories for future patients and families.” 

To find out more about leaving a gift in your Will to Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, visit www.drkh.org.uk/giftinwill.