Changes to our hospice services

In September we announced our hospice needs to save £1.5 million to sustain our future services in West Sussex and East Surrey.

We have carried out consultations with our staff over the Summer following an escalation in running costs and after the loss of over 40 roles, we’ve changed our service delivery so we can continue to best support people with life-limiting or terminal illnesses.

Changes include:

• New hours for our telephone advice line. This is available to patients and families Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, except Bank Holidays, and to professionals 24 hours, 7 days a week.

• New admission hours for our wards. Planned admissions are Monday to Friday, weekends are for urgent or emergency admissions.

• We offer group counselling to anyone who has had a loved one under the care of our hospice. For anyone who has more complex counselling needs or would prefer one-to-one support, we signpost them to other community counselling services.

• Our therapy team now work mostly in our hospice – supporting people in our therapy gym, on our wards or at hospice-based group classes. Patients who are struggling with breathlessness and fatigue, who are unable to access our hospice, can be seen at home.

• Practical care support (for example washing, dressing) for those with end of life care needs previously provided by our hospice, is provided by domiciliary care agencies in the community.

• A more targeted approach to referrals. We’ve introduced revised referral criteria, to focus on patients with more complex care needs that require specialist palliative and end of life services. Other patients will remain under the care of their GP and other healthcare services, with our team providing expert advice to them when needed.

Our specialist teams will continue to provide 24/7 advice and guidance to other healthcare professionals to support the wider delivery of palliative and end of life care in the community. These changes aim to focus the expertise of our team where it is needed most.

Giles Tomsett, Chief Executive said, “It’s been a tough and heartbreaking few months but we remain committed to our ambition to provide care to as many local people as possible to help them live and die well. With our teams working more closely with other healthcare professionals, providing our expertise for those with complex needs, we can continue to  deliver end of life care sustainably, something that’s crucial with the ongoing challenges of hospice funding.”

We also continue to push for better hospice funding

Giles added, “We continue to push for more sustainable, hospice funding and I’ve met with all local MPs to discuss our funding needs while continuing liaison with NHS leaders. We’ve also been encouraged by Wes Streeting’s comments about protecting hospices and looking at hospice funding grants. He’s promised to share more before Christmas so we’re cautiously waiting to see if the government will help us protect our work to support people at a most vulnerable time.

Despite these current challenges we remain deeply grateful for the continuing loyalty from our donors, supporters and volunteers. Without them, our care services wouldn’t be possible.”

To donate to support our vital work, please visit our donation page or call 01293 447361. Thank you.