A hospice has announced it has to axe 40 job and make more than £1 million in savings to survive. St Catherine’s Hospice has been forced to take drastic action because of inflation and the cost of living crisis. The hospice, based in Pease Cottage but operating across West Sussex and East Surrey, said more than 77 per cent of its current costs are spent on staffing and that over 40 members of staff, including nurses, are expected to be cut.
However, the hospice, which provides end of life care, said ward in-patient care will not be reduced at its 12-bed facility. The hospice has capacity for 24 beds, but is not able to operate them all due to lack of funding. Giles Tomsett, chief executive at St Catherine’s, said: “Since May, we’ve made significant reductions to our support teams, reduced the hours of our community telephone advice line and changed the way our therapy team operates.
Chief executive Giles Tomsett (Image: St Catherine's Hospice) “From Monday, September 9, we’ll be consulting with our community service teams about proposed cuts to community facing services and how best we can deliver care in people’s homes, a service we deliver alongside NHS GPs, district nursing teams and other government-funded services. “It is with great sadness that I can confirm that our proposals will include a reduction of staff including nursing. “It’s heart-breaking to have to reduce our team of highly skilled, specialist clinicians – some of whom have delivered e.