Masonic Charitable Foundation Hospice Grants

Supporting the provision of palliative and end of life care to people with low socioeconomic status in England and Wales with funding of up to £35,000.

What is the programme?

Poverty, specifically, is not a single factor; it is characterised by multiple physical and psychosocial situations or events that cause stress.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a reliable predictor of physical and psychological health, and low SES is consistently recognised as a risk factor for worse health outcomes.

This can manifest itself in many ways towards end of life – someone, or their family, may feel they have to continue working while experiencing ill health. It may have an impact on the home environment in which they spend their final weeks and months or on their funeral arrangements.

In terms of interaction with health services, low SES is known to be a factor determining the volume of acute services that are accessed, the ability to engage with a full range of digital services, and the range of services available in the local area. We also know that low SES often intersects with people experiencing homelessness, race, disability and a range of other community groups who are frequently marginalised.

In more deprived areas, housing is often poor quality, such that evidence indicates that it can lead to an excess of winter deaths. Those in rented and temporary accommodation have also to contend with housing insecurity, where overcrowding is widespread. All of this poses a challenge to the ideal of what dying well at home might be like for those living in these areas.

This grant programme aims to support the provision of palliative and end of life care to people with low socioeconomic status in England and Wales.

For more information, and to apply, visit: https://funding.cymru/funds/1694