Scottish Catholic Observer

The details of the exact threat to St Margaret of Scotland Hospice are arcane in the extreme. The precious particulars of the difference between how we fund medical and personal care to the elderly and how they relate to this specific case are devilishly complex.

Here’s what matters. St Margaret’s is not only Scotland’s oldest and largest hospice, it is a world class facility founded and run on Catholic values that has helped countless people at the end of their lives in the last 66 years.

Beyond the remarkable care they provide, Sr Rita and her team do an incredible job continually raising the thousands of pounds that are needed every week to keep it open.

Beyond any doubt, it provides astonishing value to the taxpayer and Scotland as a whole. Regardless of the wider merits of means testing, an exception must by found for St Margret’s that will allow it to retain its charitable status and stay open as the hugely valuable institution it is.

What this Hospice provides is mercy and love to people in dire need. It would be beyond folly to allow that to be crushed under a ton of red tape and regulation—it would be a crime.

The Scottish Government and local politicians need to find a solution, and fast.