A Renfrewshire charity is facing an "insurmountable funding gap".

ACCORD Hospice in Paisley is among the 14 critical Scottish hospice charities that are at a near crisis point due to underfunding.

The budget shortfalls might force the hospices to consider service cuts.

These hospices provide palliative, end-of-life care, and bereavement support to 21,000 adults and children each year.

The possibility of having to turn people away is now more real than ever.

The Scottish Hospice Leadership Group, comprising hospices from across Scotland, is demanding urgent action from the Scottish Government to ensure the future of vital hospice care.

Jacki Smart (Image: Supplied)Jacki Smart, chief executive officer at ACCORD, said: "For many years, hospices have been warning the Scottish Government that statutory funding for palliative and end-of-life care was not sufficient.

"We care for people who would otherwise be cared for in hospital.

"We help reduce the pressure on an already overstretched NHS.

"Our highly-trained and specialised staff provide this care in hospices, hospitals and in the community.

"But with static, or in some cases, decreasing annual funding from statutory funders in the NHS and Scottish Government, we simply cannot keep providing these services.

“We are not yet at the point of closing services, but if urgent action is not taken by the Scottish Government, vital end of life care in Scotland will be seriously affected.”