A hospice charity in Essex is proposing changes to its services and team to address a £1.3m shortfall, which could result in “a significant number of redundancies”.
This week, St Clare Hospice launched a consultation with staff on the proposals, which it said were being made due to funding constraints.
In a statement, chief executive Sarah Thompson said: “Because of the lack of increased funding from the NHS, and despite all our work on reducing our costs over the last year, this week we’ve launched a consultation with our staff.
“This may lead to a significant number of redundancies and a reduction in some of our services.
“We’re devastated about having to take this course of action. However, this process will enable the hospice to review every area of our care and ensure we use our resources to meet patients’ most important end-of-life care needs.”
Thompson said that for over a year, St Clare Hospice has been working behind the scenes to tackle the growing financial burdens it has taken on.
“Our bills have gone up, but in addition we’ve had to shoulder the increased cost of wages and national insurance without any comparable increases as part of our NHS funding,” she said.
Last year, St Clare Hospice cut over £300,000 from its expenditure through operational efficiencies, reviewing vacancies and cutting back where it could.
However, Thompson said this has not been enough, and “we’re facing a projected £1.3m shortfall this year, so we need to take some very difficult steps so that St Clare Hospice will continue to be here for our communities long into the future”.
Service closures
In the year to March 2025, the charity recorded a total income of £8.69m and expenditure of £9.73m and employed 190 people on average (144.6 full-time equivalent).
The charity is now proposing to close its dementia support services, free emotional support helpline and some of its community engagement work.
It is also planning to reduce its back-office functions and management team to lower costs.
While St Clare Hospice will not make any changes to its inpatient unit, it said its clinical nurse specialist and medical provision will work at a slightly reduced capacity.
It is also proposing to stop its personal care provision delivered during the day as part of its hospice at home service, which will become a more specialist service for a smaller number of patients.
Thompson said: “These changes are a plan we never wanted to implement. However, we’re making difficult decisions now that’ll enable us to retain our skills, knowledge and expertise, continue delivering outstanding care to people at the end of their lives, and operate within our financial means.
“It’s our hope that in the future we’ll be able to grow once again and reach more people who need us.”
