Liverpool Hospice Action Group want accountability over the decision to close hospice beds in Woolton
05:00, 16 Feb 2026Updated 06:53, 16 Feb 2026
Members of the Liverpool Hospice Action Group have refused to give up the fight for hospice provision
A year on from a mass protest in opposition to the closure of hospice beds in south Liverpool campaigners have refused to give up the fight, claiming the city should be “in uproar” at their loss. It was announced last summer that Marie Curie would close down its inpatient unit at its site in Woolton.
The hospice, based on Speke Road, housed a 26-bed inpatient unit where people with terminal illnesses were supported and cared for in their final weeks and days as well as community services and day services.
Last year, Marie Curie said its board of trustees took the “difficult decision to permanently close the unit” after the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB), which plans and buys NHS services for the Liverpool region, confirmed it could not provide sustainable, long-term funding above existing arrangements.
Six months on, Marie Curie North West announced in January it would supply more than a dozen staff to operate a temporary ward at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. It is expected the ward will operate until October 31.
Marie Curie confirmed a total of 15 staff would support delivery of care on the new ward. These work across a range of roles and disciplines including medical, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social work.
The staff will work between the community, Broadgreen and Woolton. The charity said would allow them to continue to support and care for people in their preferred place. The ICB is currently undertaking an assessment of what services and support the community need in the longer term once the ward closes in the autumn.
Members of the Liverpool Hospice Action Group have been campaigning against the reduced service since the beds were withdrawn on a temporary basis in 2024, and never returned to public use. Their campaigning included a large demonstration outside the hospice last February.
The group have refused to give up the fight to secure hospice beds. They held their first annual general meeting in January and have lobbied Marie Curie for answers.
Anne Nelson worked as a volunteer for the hospice, she said: “A lot of people still don’t know the beds were closed. We are trying to do as much as we can.”
Maureen Craig is a former nurse who cared for her own husband at the end of his life. She added: “It doesn’t cut through to people because who wants to talk about the end of life?”
Sharon Hindley’s dad was supported at the hospice. She said: “We insisted that there had to be some community consultation. “
Karen Galvin added: “It just felt like a tick box exercise to them. They gave us false hope. They didn’t know the people in Liverpool won’t just lay down.” Maureen said she felt it had become a “managed decline” of the centre.
Among the members is Maria Jones, 70, who was one of the 32 staff to be made redundant when the service shut down. She said she found out she was losing her job via text.
She said: “I’ve lived here all my life, my grandad was in Sunnybank, my friend’s mum worked there when I was a kid. When it needed money to support it, this village did that.
“We haven’t got short memories. We call ourselves a family.”
Maria Jones, 70, worked at Marie Curie for decades before losing her job last year
Alongside working in the hospice as a healthcare assistant, Maria herself has been touched by the services on the wards. She said: “My niece was 30 when she died there. People don’t realise it’s not just for old people. It should never have gone.
“We did all sorts of fundraising for there, abseiling down the Runcorn Bridge. My friend died after it closed, his wife was the hairdresser there, and said to me ‘all that money we raised for that place and I can’t even die in it’.”
Sharon said: “They’ve pulled the plug on the acuity and it’s what they’ve left the city with. A lot of this has come about because Marie Curie have pulled the service.
“We understand there’s not a lot of money but there’s got to be something better than what patients are getting.”
Maureen lost her first husband, Ian, when he was just 47 in 2008. She said: “Ian had lung cancer and I tried to care for him, he was 6ft 2in and skinny as a rake.
“I was trying to pull him around, get him to the toilet but he was in so much pain. I know how to care for people but it just wasn’t possible, in the end, he went into the hospice and he died there.
“There were male nurses who could help lift him and shower him. This has taken people’s choices away.
“The chaplain there said to me once, take off your nurse’s hat and just be his wife. That’s what I needed.
“Now, unless you get in one of these beds, in Liverpool which has one of the biggest rates of deprivation it’s a postcode lottery. The city should be in uproar.”
Maureen Craig(Image: Maureen Craig)
Sharon confirmed how the group had lodged a bid to take over the site through a community asset transfer. She added: “We’ve got to have some provision, it’s got to be in the model of a hospice.
“It might have to be in a hospital, but it’s got to have the type of care and compassion for people who are dying.”
Maria Davies’ mum was cared for at the hospice before she died in 2023. She said: “In their adverts, Marie Curie say they provide dignity in dying. They’ve taken that away from Liverpool.”
Anne added: “We haven’t given up, we won’t give up, it’s about accountability. We feel like they’ve betrayed our city.”
A spokesperson for Marie Curie North West said: “We do not underestimate the strength of feeling in the local community and would like to reassure the people of Liverpool that a range of palliative care services are available to those who need them.
“This includes the medical, wellbeing and community services that Marie Curie provides from our hospice in Woolton, as well as the recently opened inpatient palliative care ward at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.
“We encourage anyone who needs care for themselves or a loved one to speak to their district nurse or GP, who will make sure they get the right clinical support for their needs. Marie Curie’s free Support Line (0800 090 2309) is also available for practical and emotional support on everything from managing symptoms, to navigating care and bereavement support.”
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