A charity which was refused government funding to support one of the county's largest hospices has been offered a ray of light in its bid to help vulnerable patients at the end of their lives.

The Friends of the Wisdom Hospice (FOWH), which helps fund palliative and end of life care in Medway and Swale, was recently turned down a share of a £200 million national grant to prop up the sector during the coronavirus crisis.

Now, it has emerged NHS chiefs and charity bosses are working together to ensure funds are directed to the charity "via a local process".

The hospice in Rochester is run by Medway Community Healthcare (MCH), an independent social enterprise company funded by the NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Unlike most hospices, Wisdom Hospice is partly NHS funded rather than relying entirely on donations meaning it did not qualify for a split of the government pot.

The charity says it will lose out on hundreds of thousands of pounds normally donated which it directs to MCH to help foot the £4.5m annual bill at Wisdom Hospice.

MCH managing director Martin Riley says the funding setback from central government will not have "any impact on the care" managed by them.

He said: "We sympathise with the Friends position as a charitable organisation during this challenging period and have offered support to them as a valued partner.

"The CCG has also been in ongoing funding discussions with them in recent weeks to ensure their continued, valued role at the Wisdom Hospice.

"As a result, we are delighted to share that we have been working with the CCG to commission services in the hospice to support the NHS response to Covid-19, which has secured the required funding that would otherwise be sourced from the [government] grant funding provision."

Mr Riley added: "Our teams are continuing to provide compassionate and high quality end of life and palliative care, both at the Wisdom Hospice, and across Medway and Swale communities."

FOWH was denied the funding from Westminster because of the unique way the hospice was set up in 1984 and continues to be managed today.

The charity contributes about 20% of the annual income for the hospice – last year it raised £670,000 – with the NHS funding the remaining 80% of the £4.5m service.

MCH, as a community interest company supported by the NHS, bids for cash from the Kent and Medway CCG to run hospice care.

Only a dozen or so hospices in the UK are run in a similar manner.

The arrangement was agreed when the hospice opened due to concerns over the charity relying on donations to fund its own services because of low incomes in the Towns particularly in the wake of Chatham Dockyard closing that same year.

Mr Riley said: "To address this MCH and FOWH will be working together with the CCG to replicate the national grant via a local process to ensure that funding for the FOWH is sustained, particularly as it is not known how long restrictions will be in place."

Charity boss Martyn Reeves accused the government of "moving the goalposts" when the decision was given to them earlier this month.

He said FOWH has lost about £50,000 from its monthly income due to the impact of lockdown forcing its shops to close and fundraising events to be cancelled, including the popular Colour Run which has been rearranged for October.

Doubt remain as to whether the major event for the charity will still go-ahead.

Speaking to KentOnline previously, Mr Reeves says he fears "appetite" for events like it will not return for up to a year.

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