Impact Report and Annual Accounts 2023/24: Because Every Day Matters

Hospiscare provides free specialist palliative and end of life care across Exeter, Mid Devon and East Devon — 1,028 square miles. Their 2023/24 impact report covers 2,089 patients cared for (up 11%), a CQC Outstanding rating, care reaching homeless patients and Exeter Prison, 571 volunteers donating 55,000+ hours, and an active fair funding campaign after receiving only 15% statutory funding against a 27% national average — a £2.5 million shortfall.

Report snapshot
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📋About

Specialist inpatient ward (Searle House, Exeter); community palliative care across Exeter, Mid Devon and East Devon (1,845 patients); 24/7 specialist nursing and medical support; care at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust; care in Exeter Prison; outreach to homeless patients and those with complex housing needs; bereavement support; 571 volunteers (55,000+ hours); training placements (151 students — 132 medical, 15 nursing, social work, OT); charity shops and lottery; fair funding campaign Custom geography from upload: Exeter, Mid Devon & East Devon

📊Key Metrics

2,089 patients cared for across 1,028 square miles of Devon — up 11% on prior year; 244 on specialist ward, 1,845 at home and in the community Key Metric 1
CQC Outstanding rating received 2024 — rated Outstanding in Well-led, Caring, Responsive and Effective; rated 5-star on iwantgreatcare.org by patients and families Key Metric 2
Only 15% of annual funding from Devon ICB — compared to national average of 27%; £2.5 million funding shortfall highlighted November 2023; £10 million annual cost of services Key Metric 3

Key Outcomes

  • CQC Outstanding overall — inspectors found care 'exceptionally effective and responsive'; Hospiscare praised specifically for outreach work reaching those who might otherwise struggle to access palliative care, including homeless patients and prisoners
  • 2,089 patients cared for in 2023/24 — an 11% increase on the previous year — across Exeter, Mid and East Devon, including 552 patients in Mid Devon, 281 in East Devon, 340 in coastal towns and 556 in Exeter
  • Fair funding campaign active: Hospiscare received only 15% of income from the Devon ICB in 2023/24 against a national hospice average of 27% — a structural underfunding of £2.5m per year that the charity is actively campaigning to address

📍Geography

South West

2026 Enhanced

Impact — Winter 2026

Total income £18,180,000 and total expenditure £18,560,000 (year ended 31 December 2024, charity no. 1084958 England/Wales and SC039654 Scotland); in 2024 spent £3.8m on charitable activities including £1,079,000 on research, £1,366,000 on EB Community Support, £943,000 on public education, £270,000 on EB healthcare and £185,000 on respite breaks
Key Metric 1
700+ members supported through in-person visits and support calls in 2025; 697 support grants allocated in 2025 for essential items including specialist clothing, cooling fans and sheepskin liners; 2 new holiday homes purchased in 2025 with over 700 guests enjoying holiday homes; £34,000 raised through 2025 winter 'The Longest Night' appeal
Key Metric 2
Largest global investment in EB research to date: multi-million-pound drug repurposing trial provisionally agreed with LifeArc partner at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London; EB Priorities Setting Partnership study completed mapping global research priorities for all four main EB forms
Key Metric 3
£34,000 raised in 2025 winter appeal supporting families like Darcie's with specialist items, emotional support and research; 697 support grants delivered in 2025; first Members Connect event in Northern Ireland; EB Priorities Setting Partnership study completed providing global research roadmap
2025 Enhanced

Impact Report 2025

22,507 households helped through RBL casework and specialist support services across 66 countries
Key Metric 1
22,600 grants given to those in need, totalling £11.8 million
Key Metric 2
733 beneficiaries represented at tribunals, resulting in £24.5 million in War Pensions awards
Key Metric 3
1,548 new families living with dementia supported by RBL Admiral Nurses service
2025 Enhanced

Our Impact 2024-25

3,600 blind veterans received support across the UK; 447 new blind veterans started receiving support in 2024/25
Key Metric 1
1,598 referrals to rehabilitation services completed; 313 veterans received assistive technology training
Key Metric 2
997 volunteers donated 26,824 hours of support; befriending service awarded Quality in Befriending Excellence — one of only 11 organisations in the UK to achieve this
Key Metric 3
1,831 National Creative Wellbeing Project packs issued to help veterans reconnect with creativity and independence