This week, saw hospices and families receive the welcome announcement of the release of £75 million funding, the remaining (and largest!) portion of the Labour Government’s £100 million investment, promised back in December.  Although spending of this cannot be used to recoup any losses and impact faced by the National Insurance increases over the last four months, what it does enable is unexpected strategic spending decisions around infrastructure and digital solutions. At a time when it is estimated that 90% of the UK population will need palliative care at the end of their lives, there couldn’t be a better time to be reviewing hospice spend to further improve services.

How families navigate care decisions

When family members make the difficult decision to move a loved one into palliative care, with it comes a surge of emotions ranging from guilt to despair through to relief. It’s a reluctant move, accompanied by the fear of losing that personal touch and care, even though essential professional care is needed. They put their family members in your hands, to deliver a calm, welcome, comforting and comfortable experience that rivals what they would receive instead at home.

Budgetary impacts – the rising costs of elderly care

When planning funding allocation, we need to access our most urgent needs, align spending with compliance requirements and strategically invest for both immediate and future impact. Things to consider:

• Prioritising needs to focus on key areas to ensure investment delivers maximum impact that aligns with your mission.
• Ensure compliance with regulations by implementing thorough checks and audits on expenditure and capital, fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.
• Ensure longevity by embedding sustainable practices and careful stewardship of resources, focussing on long-term value and resilience, to maintain a commitment to care.

Innovative solutions – investing in sustainable care models

Without integrated online buying and AP Automation, companies often face the inability to track who is making purchases, from where and for how much. Managing approvals is challenging and manual processes slow things down, causing inefficiencies that lead to levels of administration that become unmanageable and can consume a significant chunk of workload capacity.

This lack of control and loss of time to focus on what matters becomes a major headache for finance teams and care providers alike. Automating Accounts Payable and online buying with Compleat Software can drastically improve efficiency, speeding up the invoice process, reducing human error while freeing up time for your team to focus on end-of-life care. Plus, with real-time tracking populated straight into your finance system, you get better control over spending before it even happens. It’s all about efficiencies and making smarter decisions that lead to a complete culture overhaul when it comes to spending. In turn, contributing directly to the level of are your hospice provides.

Finance Leaders as champions of change

Finance leaders are steering the future of elderly care, the decisions they make on spending and resource allocation directly impact the quality and accessibility of care. By investing in digital infrastructure and smartly allocating resources they’re not just influencing immediate care but shaping the entire landscape of elderly support.