St Richards Hospice could axe jobs over "unsustainable rising costs"
It's as they look to plug a one million pound deficit in their budget.
St Richard’s Hospice has announced that it is redesigning its clinical services and restructuring its workforce, as the Worcester-based charity faces unsustainable rising costs.
Earlier this year the hospice confirmed it faced a million-pound hole in its budget following a real term reduction in income received from the NHS, big increases in costs, alongside increasing need for its care services as people live much longer with multiple, complex conditions for which there is no cure.
St Richard’s has now made £613,000 of savings across its operations.
Despite this, a further reduction of £364,000 must be found to reduce the hospice’s deficit to a sustainable position.
Therefore, the hospice is proposing to redesign care services, introduce new ways of working and restructure its workforce which could result in the loss of approximately 10 whole time equivalent roles.
They say there "is no planned impact on hospice patient beds available or care provision across the county."
Jenny Cowpe, Chair of Trustees for St Richard’s Hospice, said: “St Richard’s is here for patients and families when and where they need us. We put our arms around our community in the most challenging of times, but we simply won’t be here to do that in the future if we don’t redesign our care services and reduce our deficit budget. It’s with very heavy hearts that we now face the prospect of making highly qualified, compassionate and caring professionals redundant and we’re doing everything we can to support colleagues.
“By transforming services and restructuring our workforce now, the hospice is ensuring it can return to a sustainable budget as soon as possible. While we have always operated prudently, and have savings to draw upon for now, we are not underwritten by the government or the NHS. If we run out of funds, the hospice wouldn’t be here anymore.
“In our fortieth year of care, the process we are going through puts the hospice on track to continue to provide specialist care and support for the next forty years and beyond.”
Mike Wilkerson, Chief Executive of St Richard’s Hospice, said: “More and more people need our care across Worcestershire every day. Our community is living much longer often with multiple, complex conditions for which there is no cure. We know this increase in demand will continue for all our hospice services over the coming decade, yet we were already spending more each year than we had coming into our charity.
“Over recent months we’ve found huge savings across the organisation by cutting non-pay budgets, freezing recruitment, removing vacant roles and supporting employee requests to reduce working hours, all while working hard on successful large-scale income generation projects like the great Waddle of Worcester art trail. While our fundraising and retail operations will continue to help bring in the income we need over the longer term, they could not help us tackle the impact of rising costs and we’ve been forced to take more urgent action.
“We recognise that this period of uncertainty will be unsettling for our team, volunteers, patients and families. Whilst this decision is one we wish we didn’t need to make, securing the long-term future of St Richard’s is at its heart.
“Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who helps to fund our care for local people living with an illness that cannot be cured and their loved ones – whether that’s by taking part in our fundraisers, supporting your local St Richard’s shop, or gifting your time to us as a volunteer – the support of our community remains vital for our future.”
St Richard’s Hospice is an independent charity offering free care for adults with an illness that cannot be cured, and support for their loved ones and carers.
Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,100 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.