Severn Hospice cuts are an 'attack on the dying'

The charity is to close two beds from its in-patient centre at Apley Castle, Telford, following the decision by Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group to cut funding by 25 per cent.

Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Defend Our NHS says it should not be allowed to happen and the CCG should have carried out a public consultation.

Lynda Madeley, who lives in Telford, has written to the CCG's chief officer David Evans and chair Jo Leahy on behalf of the campaign group.

The letter says: "The inevitable result is that Telford and Wrekin people at the end of their lives will die in environments where they and their loved ones are denied the specialist support and reassurance that the hospice offers them.

"Ironically, this is likely to incur greater cost to the CCG as local people die in less appropriate and more costly hospital environments.

"Our strong view in Defend Our NHS is that the CCG has both a legal and moral duty to ensure public consultation, to carry out an equality impact assessment on the proposal, and to reconcile this removal of choice with the NHS imperative of enabling patient choice."

Lynda's husband died at the charity's hospice in Telford and she says it made an 'extraordinary difference to him, to me, and to our daughters at a time of great sorrow'.

She claims it is a 'cut too far' and described it as an 'attack on the dying'.

Lynda said: "‘My husband died at Telford hospice. We cared for him at home and we struggled, to be honest.

"He was at Princess Royal Hospital after that – and, you know, it’s not the best place to be when you’re dying. Too busy, too noisy, staff run off their feet with overwork.

"And then we found him a bed at the hospice for those last few days of his life.

"I can’t begin to describe my gratitude for the extraordinary support that he had, and that was given, too, to me and to our daughters. It made all the difference in the world.

"I am incredibly angry that so much of this amazing support is going to be taken away from local people because of NHS cuts. In Defend Our NHS, we think we have to make a stand over this."

More than 5,000 people have now signed a petition, set up by the Telford & Wrekin Labour group, opposing the CCG's decision to reduce funding for Severn Hospice.

An online fundraising page, which was set up in the hope of making up some of the shortfall, has raised more than £280.

Bosses at the hospice have said the decision will “let down the people the CCG is supposed to serve”.

Telford & Wrekin CCG said that, from this month, its annual grant to the charity would be cut from £1.1 million to £850,000.

Speaking at a meeting last month, its chief finance officer Jon Cooke said the CCG needed to make £10.6m in savings in 2019/20, but it is not yet known how £4m of that sum will be achieved.

David Evans, the CCG's chief officer, said: “In addition to the health services that we commission for the population of Telford and Wrekin we also offer grants to support local voluntary organisations. These grants are discretionary and reviewed on a yearly basis. In challenging financial times we have to ensure any investments we make continue to meet the priorities of the CCG and enable us to deliver key NHS services in order to provide the best healthcare for our local population.

"With this in mind we have had to make the very difficult decision to stop awarding some grants after March 2019.

"We have a good relationship with the voluntary sector and very much value their work. We will continue discussions with them to explore opportunities for them to support our patients within the funding we have available. The CCG are also supporting organisations affected by the decision to seek alternative funding from other potential sources.

"We would like to recognise the work that has been undertaken by these organisations and would like to take this opportunity to thank the members, volunteers and staff for their contribution.”