Nurses are at risk of redundancy at a hospice which says it has been forced to make ‘substantial cost savings’.
St Raphael’s hospice, which provides end of life and palliative care for adults across Merton and Sutton, has announced plans to reduce its outgoings by £1m across the charity.
It comes after a significant rise in costs over the last few years and as NHS funding fails to keep up.
The hospice, which provides free care as an independent charity, is proposing to reduce its community clinical services by 33% and make cuts to its medical and psychological support teams.
St Raphael’s clinical director Becca Trower told Nursing in Practice the cutbacks mean nurses ‘are faced with losing their jobs’.
She described the ‘highly skilled and specialist’ nurses they had working at the charity, and the ‘huge’ benefits of their care for patients and families.
‘We are proud of the incredibly valuable work our nurses do and the difference they make,’ Ms Trower said.
‘However, these cuts mean they are faced with losing their jobs and witnessing the team they have worked so hard to create being cut back to the point where patients won’t receive the response they deserve at a time when they need it most.’
She warned staff morale was ‘low’, adding that they ‘don’t feel valued’.
‘Witnessing this is both heartbreaking and frustrating,’ she added.
The charity currently supports around 1,000 patients per year at an annual cost of over £6.5 million.
Its team includes clinical nurse specialists and medical consultants who work alongside local community healthcare professionals.
According to the charity, its costs have risen by £1.1m in recent years, as a result of inflation.
During that time, St Raphael’s has only received a £140k increase to its NHS funding – with only 25% of its operating costs coming from the NHS.
This is the lowest percentage received of all nine adult hospices in London, according to Hospice UK.
Earlier this month, Hospice UK launched an ‘urgent call to save end of life care,’ following the news that one in five of UK hospices being threatened with funding cuts.
Commenting on the news Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, described the cuts as ‘incredibly sad’ but warned that such financial pressures were not unique.
‘A recent Hospice UK survey found that the financial stability of hospices across the UK has reached a critical point, with at least a fifth having already cut services or planning to do so. Despite community support, state funding has not kept pace with rising costs.
‘This situation cannot continue. More and more hospices are cutting vital services and staff, which increases pressure on the NHS and costs taxpayers more.’
He urged the new government to ‘recognise the scale of this crisis and ensure proper funding for hospices to continue their vital work’.
St Raphael’s runs a ‘Sponsor a Nurse’ campaign, for those able to provide a monthly donation to support the hospice.
