Hospice announces service changes after job cuts

St Catherine’s Hospice recently announced a need to save £1.5m to sustain its services in West Sussex and East Surrey

A hospice which supports people with life-limiting or terminal illness has announced service changes after cutting dozens of jobs in what it said had been a "tough and heartbreaking few months".

St Catherine's Hospice, which operates in West Sussex and Surrey, announced in September it needed to save £1.5m and cut 40 jobs in order to secure its future.

It said the resulting service changes would include new hours for its telephone advice line, new ward admission hours and a more targeted approach to referrals.

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for a comment.

Announcing the changes, St Catherine's Hospice chief executive Giles Tomsett said: "It’s been a tough and heartbreaking few months but we remain committed to our ambition to provide care to as many local people as possible to help them live and die well."

'Ongoing challenges'

Practical care support, such as washing and dressing, for those with end of life care needs will now be provided by domiciliary care agencies in the community.

The hospice charity said it had changed its referral criteria to focus on patients with more complex care needs that require specialist palliative and end of life services.

Other patients will remain under the care of their GP and other healthcare services, with the hospice team providing expert advice to them when needed.

Mr Tomsett said "With our teams working more closely with other healthcare professionals, providing our expertise for those with complex needs, we can continue to deliver end of life care sustainably, something that’s crucial with the ongoing challenges of hospice funding."

He said the charity would continue to "push for more sustainable, hospice funding" and it was "cautiously waiting to see if the government will help us protect our work to support people at a most vulnerable time”.