St Cuthbert’s Hospice, Durham, has announced the devastating news that 18 members of staff from multiple departments in the organisation have been made redundant following a consultation period.
The Hospice, which opened in 1988, provides care for people diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, people approaching the end of their life and people who are bereaved in County Durham. Last year the Hospice cared for over 1,000 people both in the Hospice itself and out in the community.
Paul Marriott, Chief Executive, said: “This has been a painful experience with a horrible impact on services and staff. We are saddened to lose such highly skilled, passionate and professional individuals, many of whom have dedicated several years to the Hospice to support people in our community who need us. They have continued to demonstrate our values throughout this difficult time.”
“The outcome of this change is that we will be closing our adult bereavement service and halving our Living Well Centre. The impact is that about 100 fewer people will be able to access bereavement support. About 150 people will be unable to access day services.
St Cuthbert’s Hospice must raise £3.8 million every year, with only 42% coming from commissioning. The remainder must be raised by donations, sales from charity shops and gifts in wills.
Last year the Hospice revealed that it was facing unsustainable rising costs, increasing pressure due to the cost-of-living crisis and an increasing reliance on donations and announced the consultation period as it looked to recoup a £1.3 million deficit.
Paul added: “Everything we have done is to make the Hospice sustainable for the future. We will continue to challenge the NHS to fund palliative and end of life fairly, which will allow us to meet the demand we experience now and which we know will increase in the future. We are grateful for the support the Government has pledged. However, the £100m that was announced was for all hospices and can only be used for buildings and equipment. To avoid the cuts we have had to make we needed funding for salaries and running costs. We have asked the Government to apply maximum flexibility in the way this money can be spent but we don’t yet know what their response will be.”
Laura Barker, Head of Income Generation, said: “We are hugely grateful for the incredible support we have received from our community since sharing the news of the financial challenges facing the Hospice. The generosity and solidarity shown by so many has been heartwarming.
“We have been fortunate to receive generous one-off donations and an incredible response from groups and businesses in our community organising fundraising activities and donating to our charity shops. Many have joined our lottery or have set up or increased their regular direct debit donations both of which will provide much needed sustainable funding for the Hospice. We have also had members of our community pledge to leaving a gift to the Hospice in their Will which will help to secure the future delivery of our services.
We would like to thank our community for once again coming together to support the Hospice and would encourage anyone wanting to do so to contact the Hospice for more information about the difference their support could make.”
If you are able to donate to the Hospice or support in any way please click one of the links below, call 0191 386 1170 or email hello@stcuthbertshospice.com
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