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St Giles Hospice announces redundancies amid hospice funding crisis

30 August 2024

St Giles Hospice has today (30th August 2024) announced that it is proposing to make significant redundancies as the hospice faces unsustainable rising costs and an urgent need to reduce its budget deficit – this currently sits at £1.5 million each year.

With the hospice sector facing a financial crisis nationally, St Giles Hospice, like many hospices, is facing a number of challenges. As well as a real terms reduction in income received from the NHS, the last few years have seen big increases in our costs, including the price paid for energy, food and clinical supplies. Our ability to raise voluntary income in the current financial climate has also been impacted as supporters struggle to cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

In 2022, as we approached our 40th anniversary year, we developed a new strategic plan with the aim of building resilience and continuing to provide specialist palliative and end of life care in a financially sustainable way.

The landscape in which hospices operate is evolving and St Giles needs to adapt to keep up with changes and challenges currently being faced in palliative and end of life care, whilst ensuring good financial management. To achieve this a review of the way in which we deliver our services, and the workforce required, has been critical.

Staffing costs form the majority of what we spend and ensuring we have the right workforce to deliver our services, in a cost-efficient way, is essential. We are therefore proposing to cut approximately 40 full-time roles – around 15% of our overall workforce.

As the gap between costs and income continues to increase significantly, we have held talks with NHS commissioners to negotiate additional funding. Conversations have taken place with the local Integrated Care Board (ICB) but, while they recognise the hospice’s value and the risks associated with a reduction in service levels, they also have a funding shortfall and are having to make savings themselves.

St Giles aims to support its community’s palliative and end of life care needs however it can, as well as support its colleagues in the NHS and wider health and care system. Financial pressures mean it must now focus on its very core specialist palliative care services.

Robin Vickers, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said: “Our teams support patients at end of life, and their families, both at our hospice sites in Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield and in their own homes. The prospect of having to make highly skilled, end of life healthcare professionals redundant, as well as their colleagues who run the charity, is incredibly difficult and is not a decision we are taking lightly. We are doing everything we can to support all our hospice colleagues through this difficult time.

“By making redundancies now, the hospice is ensuring it can return to a sustainable budget as soon as possible. As a charity, we are not underwritten by the government or the NHS, we cannot continue to run a deficit and simply run out of money; if we did, the hospice would cease to exist. St Giles has been supporting our local community for over 40 years and our intention is to be here to support those who need us most in another 40 years. The redundancy process we are going through is part of a wider transformation programme that puts the hospice on the right track to achieve this goal and continue to provide outstanding care in the years to come.

“St Giles has been working with Hospice UK and other hospices nationally to seek support to address the financial challenges across the sector. We have supported national campaigning and the debate on hospice funding in parliament; however, the government response was that funding decisions were a matter for local NHS commissioners (ICBs), and no additional money would be provided. We recognise that the local NHS and its social care partners are in a difficult position, with significant funding challenges themselves. We will continue to work positively with the NHS and other local partners but must also make the decisions required as an independent charity.”

Elinor Eustace, Interim CEO of St Giles Hospice, said: “There is a growing need for palliative and end of life care and the NHS is unable to meet the huge demands on its beds. Most people do not want to die in hospital and hospices provide outstanding services that support people to die in a place of their choosing.

“Whilst St Giles will continue to campaign for fair funding for hospices locally and nationally, in the absence of any additional support, we are not able to delay these difficult decisions any longer. The hospice has also looked to cut non-pay costs and invested in income generation opportunities but, although investing in fundraising and retail operations will help to give the hospice a long-term future, the return will not be at the rate of its rising costs.

“We recognise that this is a period of uncertainty for our workforce and the wellbeing of our staff, volunteers, patients, and families is paramount. Whilst this decision has been very difficult to make, the long-term future of St Giles is at its heart.

“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helps to fund care for local people, and their loved ones, living with a terminal illness – whether that be from taking part in our events, supporting their local St Giles shop, playing our raffles and lottery or gifting their time – the support of our community is vital for our future.”

Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, said: “We are devastated to hear of colleagues being made redundant at St Giles Hospice. These are brilliant staff, committed to supporting patients and families every day.

“St Giles is not the first, and sadly will likely not be the last. This news follows other redundancies and service reductions across the UK’s hospice sector.

“Let’s be clear: redundancies of health and social care staff are simply not acceptable given the huge pressures in our NHS and beyond. Hospices like St Giles are a critical part of our health and social care system. Service reductions only mean that more patients are channelled into overstretched NHS services. It’s counterproductive for St Giles to be forced into this position.

“As a hospice sector, we want to help the NHS. We want to do more. But as is clear from St Giles and elsewhere, that can only happen if hospices are given fair funding for the services they provide on behalf of the state. Let’s hope that more redundancies will alert the government to the need to act, quickly.”

St Giles Hospice remains fully committed to providing outstanding end of life care to local people, and their families, where and when they need it.

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