$700,000 required to provide 'vital' palliative care

The Fraser Coast Hospice needs an additional $720,000 to cover its annual operations costs. (ABC Wide Bay: Olivia Nunes-Malek)

Residents are calling for the state government to provide extra funding to save a hospice facility from entering voluntary administration in Hervey Bay.

The Fraser Coast Hospice needs an extra $720,000 to cover its annual operating costs.

The board of directors have until next week to find a potential donor.

A free palliative care facility in regional Queensland that has treated 950 people in five years says without a "big bucket of money" its doors will close in a week.

The Fraser Coast Hospice board announced on Friday it would enter voluntary administration on June 10.

The six-bed residential hospice, 300 kilometres north of Brisbane, is the only facility of its kind in the region providing end-of-life care for residents and ongoing support for families, free of charge.

Board chairperson Ross Zelow said on Monday another $60,000 per month or $720,000 annually was needed to cover operational costs.

Mr Zelow said the service operated on state government funding and donations from community fundraisers.

Ross Zelow hopes the shortfall can be covered before the facility goes into voluntary administration next week. (Supplied: Fraser Coast Hospice)

He hoped the shortfall would be sourced before the facility was forced to close.

"Whether it's one big donor or a number of small donations from knights in shining armour that can donate continuously each month," Mr Zelow said.

"It's the big bucket of money that we've got to try and find … so we can open it [the hospice] up."

Hamish Thompson from Tasmania said the service was a "godsend" for his late mother who was referred to the hospice earlier this year after a terminal lung cancer diagnosis.

"They managed to do this incredibly delicate thing, which is about enabling people to have a private space that felt like being at home," he said.

Hamish Thompson said the hospice employees were a "godsend" while caring for his mother Lorna Thompson (right). (Supplied: Hamish Thompson)

"They were sensitive, gently inquiring about how we were feeling … it's a huge gift."

Fraser Coast deputy mayor Lachlan Cosgrove had first-hand experience with the hospice after a loved one died in January 2025.

"The hospice is not a service that you want to know about or want to think about but if you need it, it provides the dignity and care that families need for their loved ones who are passing onto the next life."

Councillor Cosgrove called on the state government to provide a financial lifel