St Wilfrid’s Hospice confirms changes to services

St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Eastbourne has today confirmed that it will be making changes to its services as part of its drive to make sure the hospice is here for the future.

Following consultation with staff, the hospice will stop providing domiciliary care to people at home. This is the hands-on care (such as help with dressing, washing or eating) that it currently provides for a small number of patients.

Other services provided by the hospice – including its Community Team of doctors, nurses and other health professionals, 24/7 telephone advice line, Living Well service and Inpatient Unit - will continue to operate as normal.

The announcement comes at a time when two in five hospices nationally are reducing services. “Our costs continue to increase whilst our funding is staying broadly the same,” explained St Wilfrid’s Hospice CEO Colin Twomey. “This financial year we have budgeted for a loss of £1.5million. Whilst we can manage this by carefully using our reserves, it simply isn’t sustainable long-term. To protect our future and make sure we are here for generations to come, we’re making some difficult but necessary changes.”

This change will result in the removal of 9.69 full-time equivalent permanent roles held by fifteen people. A further sixteen people who work flexibly through the hospice’s bank system will also be affected. “I am devastated that we will have to say goodbye to dedicated and compassionate team members,” Colin said. “I cannot emphasise enough that this change is not a reflection on the team or service; we know that they have done a brilliant job and are highly valued by patients. I want to say a heartfelt thank you to every one of them, for the difference they have made to so many people’s lives, and for the kindness and dignity they have shown to patients and families.”

The decision, he said, is about ensuring charitable funds are used to make the most impact. “It is important that, as a hospice, we live within our means and focus on the specialist care that other services cannot provide for local people. There are many care providers locally offering domiciliary care at home for those who need it, including at the end of a person’s life. We believe our expertise is best used to support these providers, rather than duplicating their services.”

The hospice says it has been working to minimise the impact on patients. “The small number of patients who have been receiving this type of care from us have all been contacted to talk about what happens next,” said Colin. “We are working closely with our partners in the NHS to make sure that no patient is left without appropriate care. We are also continuing to support local care-providers through our education programme and 24/7 Nurse Line so that, together, we can give people the best possible end of life care.”

This change to services comes a year after the hospice announced a reduction in its workforce of 450 hours across the organisation, including in its leadership team. Since then, there has been an extensive programme of work to reduce costs and secure new income. This has included making savings in its non-clinical teams, finding efficiencies, partnering with other local hospices and exploring new income streams.

Community support continues to be vitally important to the future of the hospice, said Colin: “The outpouring of feeling we have seen in the weeks since we proposed changes has been humbling. It is clear that our community cares deeply about the future of the hospice, and we are committed to making sure we are here for generations to come. Our community is simply amazing, and has stepped up when we’ve asked – and for that I am truly grateful. We still have work to do, but I am confident that, together, we will secure the future of the hospice.”

St Wilfrid’s Hospice provides high-quality care and support for people across Eastbourne, Seaford, Hailsham, Uckfield, Heathfield (and all points between) with life-limiting illnesses. You can find out more about the changes, including answers to some commonly asked questions, at stwhospice.org/changes