St Cuthbert’s Hospice has been forced to close its Community Outreach and Dementia Services after failing to secure funding
St Cuthbert’s Hospice(Image: St Cuthbert’s Hospice)
A hospice has announced that further services have been axed due to ongoing financial pressures. St Cuthbert’s Hospice, in Durham city, was forced to close a number of services earlier this year and members of staff from multiple departments in the organisation were made redundant following a consultation period.
Now, the service has announced it will be closing its Community Outreach and Dementia Services at the end of September. The services were able to operate through grant funding but the hospice says it has been unable to secure funding to continue the services, while three members of staff have also been affected by the closure.
A statement posted on social media reads: “Earlier this year, we made the sad announcement of redundancies at St Cuthbert’s Hospice across many different teams and departments. This action was due to unsustainable rising costs, growing pressure due to the cost-of-living crisis and an increasing reliance on donations, with only 42% of funding coming from central government.
“This action resulted in the closure of the Adult Bereavement Service and a reduction of our Living Well Centre care. In Patient Care and our Children’s Bereavement Service were unaffected and continue to operate as usual.”Sadly, despite our best efforts, we have not been able to secure funding to pay for the continuation of our Community Outreach and Dementia Services. The original funding for these services was thanks to grant funding, which finishes at the end of September.
Our County Durham Live newsletter is free. You can sign up to receive it here. It will keep you up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from in and around County Durham.
“With a heavy heart, we have said a sad farewell to a further three valued members of the team. We have worked closely with staff members and volunteers to ensure the Community Outreach and Dementia services have ended in an ethical and respectful way. We will continue to deliver Cognitive Stimulation Therapy sessions through the Living Well Centre, which remains an important part of our support for people living with dementia.”The loss of these services is significant – especially at a time when the need for dementia support in our community continues to grow and many other services in the community face similar challenges. Because of these service changes, we have made the decision to pause and take stock.
“This period will allow us to reflect on what is needed, what is possible, and what can be delivered in a financially sustainable way. Any future decisions will be informed by this evaluation and by our ability to meet the needs of our community in a way which is both impactful but also viable.”Throughout the year, we have been fortunate to receive generous one-off donations and an incredible response from groups and businesses in our community, organising fundraising activities and donating to our charity shops.
“Many have joined our lottery or have set up or increased their regular direct debit donations, both of which will provide much-needed sustainable funding for the Hospice. We have also had members of our community pledge to leaving a gift to the Hospice in their Will, which will help to secure the future delivery of our services.”We would like to thank our community for once again coming together to support the Hospice and would encourage anyone wanting to do so to contact the Hospice for more information about the difference their support could make.”
For 36 years, St Cuthbert’s Hospice has provided care for people diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, people approaching the end of their life and people who are bereaved in County Durham. Last year the hospice cared for over 1,000 people both in the hospice itself and out in the community.
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we’ll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community