Hospices face internal review amid £3.7m deficit

A hospice group is proposing changes to its clinical services at its Sussex facilities due to "financial challenges".

Southern Hospice Groupsays it is carrying out an internal review of Chestnut Tree House children's hospice near Arundel; Martlets in Hove, and St Barnabas House, an adults hospice in Worthing.

The group says the three facilities support more than 100,000 patientssince they were founded, and it only receives 14% of funding from its NHS grant.

The hospice group says it is "not closing" its hospices, and that while it is in a "financially challenging position", it has reserves for "the short-term".

It added the review aimed to "redesign services to ensure care is equitable, sustainable, and aligned with their available funding".

A spokesperson for the group said they were "operating at a deficit of £3.7m" which was "compounded by increased demand and rising costs such as inflation and National Insurance".

Stuart Palma, chief executive of Southern Hospice Group, said nearly two-thirds of hospices in the country were "facing a deficit".

He explained hospices were having to handle "increased demand" due to factors including an ageing UK population, complexities of healthcare and specialist teams doing more home visits.

Palma added operational costs, due to inflation, have gone up by 22% while the rise in NI was costing hospices an extra £650,000.

"Because of the cost of living crisis, our generous community which has continued to support us, are giving less," Palma said.

The hospice group said they have "done all they could" to address the deficit without impacting clinical services.

This included making savings in non-clinical teams, combining systems to reduce duplication and exploring new income streams.

The groups add it is consulting the proposed changes to staff which takes about 30 days.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.