A cash-strapped Chesterfield-based hospice being forced to slash beds from up to 21 to six with feared job losses says Government plans to support palliative and end-of-care services are welcome but they will be too late to prevent its cutbacks.
Ashgate Hospice, on Ashgate Rd, at Old Brampton, in Chesterfield, which is dependent on funding and donations provides respite and care for seriously ill patients and those needing end-of-life care as well as support for patients’ families and friends.
But the charity-run hospice announced in October that it is being forced to make £2.6m of savings due to a lack of funding from the local NHS with plans to reduce inpatient beds and make staff cuts that could see jobs losses with a reduction in care and support services.
Ashgate Hospice Chief Executive, Barbara-Anne Walker, said: “Ashgate is an outstanding hospice. Our fundraising and retail teams are second to none but despite that we are having to make devastating cuts so there’s clearly something badly wrong in the sector.
“Although today’s (November 26) announcement won’t stop the changes we are now being forced to make, we are glad the Government has said it will act.
“In 2024/25, thanks to the incredible generosity of our community and the hard work of our team, we had a record-breaking year for fundraising and retail income, raising almost £10 million. But however hard we work, it’s still not enough.”
Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, made a clear and firm commitment at the Hospice UK conference about plans for palliative care and the end of life care Modern Service Framework to improve access, quality and sustainability in the sector.
But the MSF plan will not be published until Spring next year and without the promise of any interim funding for adult hospices from the Government or from the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board Ashgate Hospice will have no choice but to continue with its consultation process and cuts.
Individual consultations are underway, with the number of roles at risk reducing to 33, of which nine are inpatient nursing roles, eight are healthcare assistants, five are in the community team, and three are in supportive care, in addition to staff at risk in other non-clinical teams.
This figure does not include any interim contracts that may become available through the success of the Save a Precious Bed appeal.
Ashgate was rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year with 100per cent ratings in four out of five categories, giving it one of the highest scores in the country, and it provides specialist palliative and end of life care to around 2,600 patients and for the people important to them annually.
Despite the outstanding quality of its care, months of negotiations and the support of MPs across Derbyshire, Ashgate has been unsuccessful in its bid to get the local NHS to increase its funding settlement.
Labour Chesterfield and Staveley MP, Toby Perkins, has said he is very disappointed that palliative care patients in North Derbyshire will lose access to beds and that workers at the hospice will be worried for their future.
Mr Perkins added that he and Parliamentary colleagues have been engaged in discussions with Ashgate Hospice and the NHS Derbyshire ICB and the cluster ICBs and that he will continue to press the Derbyshire ICB for fair and sustainable funding.
Independent NE Derbyshire District Councillors, including Cllr Ross Shipman, wrote to Amanda Sullivan, Chief Executive of NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB, raising concerns about what they claimed is ‘continued underfunding from the NHS’ while calling for a fairer funding model and a review of funding arrangements.
Rising costs, increasing demand, and the fact that the local NHS only pays for just 50per cent of the care it commissions from Ashgate have led to an unsustainable financial situation with the charity’s reserves becoming critically low.
Ms Walker added: “The Minister of State clearly recognises what we have been saying for months now – national Government has to step in as there is a postcode lottery affecting end of life care.
“In South Derbyshire specialist end of life care is fully funded by the NHS where it is provided at University Hospitals Derby and Burton. In North Derbyshire where that care is provided by Ashgate just 50per cent of our funding comes from the local NHS. That can’t be right.”
Amanda Sullivan, Chief Executive of NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, has said the ICB greatly values the work of the hospice sector and it is sorry to learn from Ashgate Hospice about its proposals to cut services.
She added that NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB believes the level of funding it provides to Ashgate Hospice is fair when compared with benchmarks for the hospice sector nationally and it is also in line with NHS England guidance.
Ms Sullivan said its core contract value with Ashgate Hospice has increased in value by 55per cent since the 2022/23 financial year and the request for a multi-million pound increase in funding during this financial year is especially difficult at a time when the whole health system is under extreme financial pressure and when no additional services would be provided.
However, Ms Sullivan added that NHS Derbyshire ICB will work with Ashgate Hospice and the rest of the health and care system to mitigate any proposals.
Ashgate Hospice has launched the Act Now for Ashgate campaign urging the public to contact the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board to call for fair and sustainable funding for end-of-life care in North Derbyshire.
Members of the public can contact the NHS Derbyshire ICB to ask for fair funding for Ashgate Hospice via email at ddicb.complaints@nhs.net or by post to: Chief Executive Officer, NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, The Council House, First Floor, Corporation Street, Derby DE1 2FS.
Ashgate is also urging the local community to support its Save a Precious Bed Appeal as the best way of saving jobs and beds without action from the local ICB. Those interested in contributing can visit https://ashgatehospice.org.uk/precious-bed/ for details.
To find out more about the proposed changes the hospice has urged people to visit https://ashgatehospice.org.uk/proposed-changes/ where details on the Act Now for Ashgate campaign are also available.
