Huddersfield hospice cuts staff and beds to save its future
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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