A HOSPICE that is branching out into low-cost funerals has faced a backlash from opponents

The Good Funeral Guide warns it could hit the reputation of Bishop’s Hull-based St Margaret’s Hospice, while a funeral director has branded it “unethical” and a fundraising volunteer has resigned.

St Margaret’s is the first institution to sign up for a £10,000 fee to the Hospice Funerals venture under the brand Memoria, enabling the charity to offer low-cost funerals to families of patients it cared for. But there are fears bereaved families could feel pressured to book funerals with St Margaret’s, which will base the venture in premises in Bridge Street, as a way of paying for the care their loved ones received.

Good Funeral Guide editor Fran Hall has written to Britain’s 191 hospices warning their reputations could suffer “catastrophic” damage if they join, while giving them an unfair advantage over existing funeral directors and harming the view that hospices are “wholly altruistic organisations”.

Simon Helliar-Moore, of Crescent Funeral Services, said he is fully supportive of the hospice, which provides “second to none” nursing care.

But he added: “We hope the public will think carefully about this and not be pressured into using the hospice funeral service through a feeling of guilt rather than because they believe it provides the best service for their loved ones. What would people think if funeral directors went into care provision? It looks as though St Margaret’s is trying to get its business from the hospice’s good name. It seems so unethical.”

Mike Perrin, who with his wife has raised thousands for St Margaret’s over 16 years, looked into the deal. He said: “I’ve resigned because the prices/financial dealings of the new venture do not match the hospice aims and objectives.”

St Margaret’s chief executive Ann Lee, who has worked in the hospice movement for 18 years, said the funeral service is “a logical extension of our end of life care” that “will help to secure the future of our hospice by offering families a seamless, compassionate and high quality service at a critical time”.

She added: “At a time when government funding is being squeezed and demand for end of life care is increasing...we need to find new sources of sustainable funding so we can continue to care for people in Somerset.

“I’m absolutely clear that patients and their families will be under no pressure whatsoever to use our funeral service. The values underlying the service we’ve provided to people in Somerset for 37 years remain at the heart of everything we do, including this new service. We’ll continue to offer patients and their families the same comprehensive care, support and information.”

Ms Lee slammed the Good Funeral Guide’s “disingenuous” claims it has the best interests of hospices at heart when “it appears to be more concerned with protecting the commercial interests of those who fear increased competition in the funeral market”.