As Les Bourgs Hospice approaches its 35th anniversary, its chief executive says the charity is entering one of the most important chapters in its history – marked by meaningful progress, but also challenges.
Speaking to Express, CEO Rob Jones gave an honest reflection of the past 12 months, and explained why he is feeling optimistic verdict ahead of Christmas and the New Year…
2025 Highlights
With Les Bourgs their well known reputation, and superb standard of care is synonymous with the Charity Hospice.
They’ve touched lives locally, and that shows in the support they receive year in – year out. However with costs always on the creep, it’s no surprise third sector organisations are feeling the pinch.
Even with prices providing problematic for many, Mr Jones has seen much progress at Les Bourgs over the last 12 months:
“Despite ongoing financial pressures, 2025 has been a year of significant and compassionate new developments at Les Bourgs, allowing us to have an even greater impact than in previous years.
“Through a new partnership with Guernsey Motor Neurone, we replaced all of our bedstock with cuddle beds, creating more opportunities for comfort, closeness and dignity for patients and their loved ones. We also launched a new wellbeing service, offering a warm and lively social space for people living with life-limiting conditions, alongside education to help manage symptoms and vital respite for families.”
A specific highlight for the CEO of Les Bourgs was the introduction of home cooked meals:
“Another important step forward was the introduction of home-cooked food, with our staff preparing meals tailored to individual dietary needs and personal wishes, helping people feel truly cared for in everyday moments. We also introduced our first ‘Stars of Memory Nature Walk’ in December, a gentle Christmas-time experience for children affected by loss, creating space to remember loved ones together.
“Delivering all of this in a year of financial challenge makes us especially proud of the dedication of our team, volunteers and supporters, and the difference they have helped us make for families across the island.”
Challenges
The charity heavily relies on support from the public to provide the highest level of care they can, but that comes at with increasing financial costs:
“The greatest challenge continues to be financial sustainability in an increasingly unpredictable environment. Our baseline cost to run seven beds is £2.8 million a year, with around 85% of that spent directly on care, and rising costs – particularly pay linked to RPI and national nursing pay agreements – are largely outside our control.”
Not only is the financial picture becoming more complex, but so are the needs of patients, which in turn accrues even higher costs:
“At the same time, the complexity of patients’ needs is growing, often requiring more senior staff and higher care ratios, which inevitably increases costs. While reserves provide a vital safety net, they can disappear very quickly at this scale, and we simply can’t rely on legacies, which can vary enormously from year to year.
“Balancing financial pressure with the need to maintain the very highest standards of care for patients and families is a constant challenge.”
The 2026 Wishlist
When looking towards the new year, Mr Jones is confident that co-operation, and partnership is the way forward for the beloved local charity:
“Looking ahead to 2026 which is our 35th anniversary year, our wish list is centred on sustainability and partnership. We want to grow and diversify our income so we’re less exposed to volatility, whether that’s through increased donations, more fundraising activity, continued success in our retail operations, or exploring opportunities for additional shops on the island.
“We would also like to see progress towards a more structured partnership approach with government, recognising that modern hospices everywhere require some level of public support to meet growing demand.
“Above all, our wish is to secure the resources needed to protect our nursing team, support families through the most challenging times of their lives and ensure Les Bourgs Hospice can continue enriching the island for the next 35 years and beyond.”