Hospice cuts staff and beds to secure its future

A hospice in Huddersfield has announced it has made 19 staff redundant and reduced the number of inpatient beds in order to save its future.

The Kirkwood provides end-of-life care to about 2,000 patients each year but its chief executive Michael Crowther said it had faced a "perfect storm" of rising operational costs over the past few years.

Mr Crowther said wages for its 250-strong workforce made up most of its £11m annual budget and the recent rise in employers' National Insurance contributions (NICs) had "further deepened these financial pressures".

He said: "This has been the single hardest decision we have ever had to make."

Another nine staff members have agreed to cut their hours and several others have decided to retire to help reduce the annual costs by £1.7m, the hospice added.

Mr Crowther said: "As you can imagine, this has been one of the most difficult periods in The Kirkwood's history.

"Having to make any of our highly skilled colleagues redundant is not something we ever thought we would have to do.

"I would like to acknowledge all those who have left the charity during this really difficult time for their dedication and commitment."

The hospice receives only 25% of its funding from the NHS with the rest coming from donations.

Bosses said the scale of the funding crisis meant they had had to make some "difficult decisions" about clinical services including cutting the number of beds in its inpatient unit from 16 to 12.

As a result of the widespread changes, the hospice said there would be a reduction in the number of patients it could care for from around 2,100 last year to around 1,300 in the future.

The hospice said it would continue to provide specialist palliative support at home and in care homes across Kirklees but would be working in a reduced capacity and would therefore "need to prioritise those with the most urgent and unmet needs".

Mr Crowther added: "The truth is, without increased support, it simply isn't possible to maintain the full range of care we have provided over the past few years."

The government has previously said the rise in National Insurance contributions was necessary to fund public services.

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