27 Mar 2026 Care

The Kirkwood Secures Vital Funding to Support Care in Kirklees

We are pleased to announce we have secured new, long-term NHS funding which will help our charity to reinforce and protect key services following a period of significant financial challenge.

This recurrent investment from the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board – Kirklees Place marks an important milestone for The Kirkwood. After facing a £1.7m deficit in 2025, we were forced to make the heartbreaking decision to reduce our workforce and clinical capacity. Whilst the funding is an important step toward stability, we continue to rely on the fundraising and donations provided by the Kirklees community to fund the majority of our care.

The new agreement is the result of months of hard work between The Kirkwood and healthcare partners to develop a new model of care that ensures specialist palliative and end of life services are a key priority for the health and social care system across Kirklees.

This funding provides a vital foundation for The Kirkwood to reinforce its core services. We will now be able to recruit into permanent clinical roles, helping to return our In-Patient Unit from 12 to 16-beds. The investment will also allow us to increase the number of Community Nurses we employ to provide specialist support for patients in their own homes and care homes.

Furthermore, the resource ensures the continuation of The Kirkwood’s Virtual Hospice pilot, which offers intensive specialist care for those who choose to stay in the comfort of their own home. It will also fund a specialist ‘in-reach’ post within the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust to help patients in hospital access hospice services more easily.

Michael Crowther, Chief Executive with The Kirkwood, said: “After a very challenging period, this is a moment for real optimism. While we are still recovering from the financial challenges we faced last year, this investment is a significant step forward.

“It’s important to be clear that this doesn’t solve all our challenges, and it doesn't put us back to where we were before 2025. However, it sets us on a positive path. It is a shared success for Kirklees, born from a lot of hard work with our partners, who are equally passionate about ensuring high-quality palliative and end of life care continues to be accessible for everyone in Kirklees, now and into the future.”

Michael Crowther, Chief Executive with The Kirkwood The Kirkwood 

 

Victoria Pickles, Director of Corporate Affairs for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, added: “This is great news for our communities and those requiring palliative and end of life care in Kirklees. All colleagues on the Dying Well Board have supported and championed the work to get to this position and it is a shared success across partners.”

While the new funding offers more stability, the majority of The Kirkwood’s care continues to be funded through the kindness of local people. In today's challenging economic times, we need support from the local community as much as ever.

“The way our community responded to our crisis last year was nothing short of extraordinary,” said Michael. “From our supporters and volunteers to local MPs and commissioners, The Kirkwood Movement stood with us. Your advocacy and generosity reminded us why our mission is so vital.

“To keep our 16 beds open and our services running, we still rely on you. Our community stood with us during our most difficult days, and that collective strength is the reason we have continued to be here for almost 40 years.

“Your help is as needed as much today as it ever has been. Every donation and every volunteer helps us ensure that no one in Kirklees has to face a life limiting illness alone.”

 

Cick here to find out more about how you can help The Kirkwood Support Life,