At St Giles Hospice, our purpose is to provide excellent palliative care and enable our communities to support each other in living the best life they can to the very end.
One of the ways in which we do this is by working collaboratively with our healthcare and community partners, and as such, we are proud to announce some temporary plans – coming into effect later this year – to support our colleagues at Acorns Children’s Hospice.
The ‘Acorns in the Black Country’ hospice, based in Walsall, will be closing for major refurbishment between May to October 2022.
During this time, Acorns will be given access to three Inpatient Unit bedrooms here at St Giles Hospice, to ensure that babies, children and young people across the Black Country continue to get access to specialist palliative care services at a location near to them.
We are working closely with Acorns to ensure the smooth, temporary transition of its service to our hospice in Whittington from May – and can assure all staff and volunteers that the assigned bedrooms will be managed 24 hours a day by Acorns’ teams.
This is a really unique opportunity for two charities to work together in the provision of palliative care and we are delighted to be there for the staff and families at Acorns in the Black Country.
We understand that there may be some questions regarding this, so please see below for our FAQs.
With the long-term future of Acorns in the Black Country now secured, the hospice is undergoing major refurbishment to modernise the spaces where local children spend precious time with their families, and ensure that children continue to get the specialist care they need for generations to come. The level of nursing care and emotional support Acorns in the Black Country provides is of the highest quality, and with this exciting refurbishment project, children and families will enjoy the highest standards of facilities and décor to match.
Absolutely. Acorns’ teams have worked together to deliver lifeline care and support across all three of its hospice sites, as well as in families’ homes, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. During the refurbishment of its Black Country hospice, families who would normally use this facility will still be able to access therapeutic services from the hospice in Birmingham. Where there is more demand for planned short breaks than Acorns can meet from our three Inpatient Unit bedrooms at St Giles Hospice, Acorns will also consider availability at its Birmingham and Worcester hospices.
All costs associated with the temporary transition of Acorns in the Black Country to St Giles Hospice will be met by Acorns Children’s Hospice. These costs will be met by a planned budgeted resource, to include outlays such as the relocation of equipment, and food and drink charges. The assigned bedrooms will also be managed 24 hours a day by Acorns’ teams.
St Giles Hospice is a registered charity and we remain committed to using donated funds to deliver the charitable aims and objectives of the hospice. All donations already made to St Giles – as well as future donations – will continue to be used to deliver specialist care through both our hospice and community services. No donated funds will be used to support Acorns Children’s Hospice – all costs associated with the temporary transition of Acorns in the Black Country to St Giles Hospice will be met by Acorns Children’s Hospice.
While we welcome this unique opportunity to work together in the provision of palliative care, St Giles Hospice and Acorns Children’s Hospice are not merging. We will each remain independent charities and this is very much a temporary measure to enable major refurbishment to take place at Acorns in the Black Country.
The changes will come into effect from 1st May 2022 and will last for six months.
The changes are a temporary measure to enable this major refurbishment project to take place at Acorns in the Black Country. The changes will last for the duration of the redevelopment works, scheduled for six months between May to October 2022.
Between 2016 and 2018 we were able to open six additional beds at our hospice in Whittington. At the time we did not know whether this would be a temporary or permanent move, as charitable funding is often uncertain, and in 2021, we made the difficult yet considered decision to close these six additional beds. This decision was made to ensure that the 19 beds remaining are staffed to a high level and continue to deliver the high quality of care for our patients that we are known for. The reason we are able to offer Acorns Children’s Hospice access to three of these six Inpatient Unit bedrooms is because all costs will be met by Acorns.
The three Inpatient Unit bedrooms at St Giles Hospice in Whittington will be used by families supported by Acorns in the Black Country for short breaks, symptom management and end of life care. As each child’s needs are unique, Acorns’ care teams will continue to ensure that all children accessing its services from St Giles Hospice will have their individual clinical and social needs met, as with any stay at Acorns.
For patients and families at St Giles Hospice:
Our patients and families should be reassured that they are our absolute priority, and these temporary plans will have no impact on the high quality care and support we will continue to provide. The same number of Inpatient Unit bedrooms will remain available for St Giles Hospice patients, and we welcome this opportunity to provide a further three bedrooms to Acorns Children’s Hospice to offer additional support for life limited and life threatened children and their families.
For children and families at Acorns in the Black Country:
The children and families who use Acorns in the Black Country for short breaks will be advised they will be able to continue to book planned short breaks and that this service will be provided from the three Inpatient Unit bedrooms at St Giles Hospice. Acorns’ care teams will be providing the same specialist care and support they deliver at the Acorns in the Black Country at St Giles Hospice. Children requiring symptom management and end of life care will continue to be prioritised for in-hospice care.
Acorns’ specially trained Family Services Team will continue to provide psychosocial support to families and siblings in their own homes and over the telephone. Acorns is also considering sites local to the Black Country area from which to base its Family Services Team, where families and siblings will be able to access a range of support groups. Acorns will also be delivering increased Clinical Outreach services, providing support to children and families in their own homes, throughout this six-month period.
For staff and volunteers at St Giles Hospice:
Our staff and volunteers should be reassured that the assigned bedrooms will be managed 24 hours a day by Acorns’ teams and there will be no impact on roles and responsibilities. We are working closely with Acorns to ensure the smooth, temporary transition of its service to our hospice in Whittington from May, but all of our team will be kept up to date and fully supported during this period of change.
For staff and volunteers at Acorns in the Black Country:
Acorns will be working with its teams to ensure they are all fully supported during the temporary relocation of its services.
Anyone with further questions can contact St Giles Hospice on advice@stgileshospice.com