Nottinghamshire Hospice faces ‘heartbreaking’ decisions as rising costs put staff at risk of redundancy

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Nottingham Hospice has been treating patients at the end of their life for 45 years

By Callum Wright

Staff at a Nottingham end-of-life care charity say they face a ‘heartbreaking’ situation as rising costs have put many staff members’ jobs at risk.

Nottinghamshire Hospice, on Woodborough Road, Nottingham, has been supporting people reaching the end of their lives since 1980, but is one of many similar charities across the country facing financial problems.

The hospice faced a £600,000 budget gap for the year, which later increased to a predicted £800,000 following the October Budget announcement of National Minimum Wage and National Insurance increases.

The hospice says its biggest cost comes from staff salaries, with £4 in every £5 spent going on wages. As a result managers have put 17 staff members at risk of redundancy to try and keep the charity afloat.

Chief Executive Officer Rachel Hucknall says the hospice has worked hard to manage costs across the last few years, but now has no choice but to make the difficult decision to consider cutting staff numbers.

Rachel Hucknall says that the hospice has had to make several cuts to services already over the last few years

“People work in the hospice sector because they love their job and they love what they do; people don’t work here for salaries or status,” she said.

“To have to sit in a room with people and talk to them about potentially losing their job or reducing their hours when they are so passionate about what they do is absolutely heartbreaking.”

Ms Hucknall added the gaol is to ensure the hospice’s long-term survival as it expects the number of patients to increase.

She said: “The forecast is that hospice care is going to face increasing demand over the next few years, we’re looking at a 25 per cent increase in demand.

“This charity has been here for 45 years and it’s my job to make sure that we’re here for the next 45.”

The hospice runs day services at its Nottingham centre on Woodborough Road, offering activities and emotional support to improve quality of life.

Another reason why the hospice has been forced to turn to staff cuts is to protect its ‘Hospice in your Home’ service, which enables patients and carers to receive care and support from their own homes.

The support covers nine out of 10 patients and their families associated with the hospice, and Cathie Alcock, Head of Community Services, says that protecting the service is “vital”.

Cathie Alcock says that while people often think hospices are dark and depressing, it’s actually a lovely place full of laughter

“We’re very privileged to look after people at a really stressful and emotional time of their life; we enable people to die at home, we support people to say out of hospital and provide that support to not only the patients but their families in their home environment,” she said.

“Unfortunately, as the national news tells us, hospices around the country are facing financial hardship at the moment so unfortunately these decisions have to be made, but without these decisions the future of the hospice would be in doubt and therefore the care to the patients in the community would certainly be in doubt.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We recently announced the largest investment in hospices in a generation.

“This £100m fund will improve facilities and allow hospices to focus their attention and wider resources on providing the best care to patients.”

The consultation period for the hospice employees affected is likely to take up to 30 days, after which further announcements are expected.

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