St Giles Hospice announces job cuts and bed closures amid financial strain

St Giles Hospice in Lichfield, Staffordshire, has announced it will close eight beds and make 21 staff redundant, including 15 clinical roles, to address financial pressures. The hospice had previously indicated in the summer that it was facing an annual deficit of £1.5 million, a situation that aligns with national warnings of a funding crisis affecting hospices across the country. Elinor Eustace, the interim chief executive, attributed these challenges to “a group of donors who are phenomenally generous but who are also feeling the squeeze, and an NHS income that isn’t keeping up with inflation.” The government responded by stating that the employer National Insurance rise would take effect in April and that funding allocations for 2025 would be set out in due course. The hospice’s at-home scheme, which provides care for thousands of people, could become more difficult to access as a result of these service reductions. Kristy Clayton, director of clinical services, stated, “By having to reduce our services we are ultimately going to have to reduce the [number of] people that we look after.” She had previously informed the BBC that the unit’s 23 beds could easily be filled twice over, describing the necessity of deciding who to prioritize as “incredibly heartbreaking.” Nurses are among the positions being eliminated at the hospice, a decision that has reportedly shocked staff members. Kristie Dann, a clinical nurse specialist, commented on the impact, saying, “As a nurse you think that’s always going to be a job that’s going to be a certainty. So that was really, really hard.” St Giles operates with an annual budget of £10 million, and more than three-quarters of its staff are in clinical positions. Five years ago, NHS funding covered approximately 25% of the hospice’s costs, but this proportion has since decreased to 17.7%. Ms. Eustace told the BBC that the hospice employed 292 staff prior to a transformation program aimed at addressing the deficit. The 21 jobs being cut include 15 clinical and six non-clinical staff. She noted that the hospice sector nationwide is experiencing a “collective £77m deficit across the UK” and emphasized the need for changes in funding. She warned, “If something doesn’t change in terms of the way in which hospices and end-of-life care is funded, then there is the potential that many hospices will close over the next 10 years.” Hospice UK has called for urgent financial investment from the government. A government spokesperson stated that “tough decisions” had been made to facilitate a £22 billion boost for the NHS and social care, which was announced in the Budget. The spokesperson added, “We want everyone to have access to high-quality end-of-life care and are aware of the financial pressures facing the hospice sector, and of the huge generosity of the British public, whose donations provide a significant proportion of hospice funding. We are determined to shift more healthcare into the community and ensure patients and their families receive high-quality, personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and hospices will have a big role to play in that shift.” Meanwhile, families who have received in-patient care in Lichfield highlighted its vital importance. Wendy from Burntwood, who is terminally ill, told the BBC that spending her final days at the hospice had brought her peace, describing the service and staff as “brilliant.” She said, “They have given me a calming feeling. Everybody has done more or less what was needed and for that I can’t thank these people enough.” She celebrated her 77th birthday at the hospice, reading loving cards and good wishes from family and friends. Her husband of 56 years, John, asserted, “Politicians – they should be funding this place to the hilt. There can’t be a better place in the world than this. It really is that good.”