Patients praise godsend care of Marie Curie community team in Newcastle in face of cuts to hospices

Katie Cole meets a family whose lives are enhanced by carers from a sector said to be in the worst financial position for 20 years

A woman whose husband receives lifeline care from Marie Curie's community team has said the hospice staff are "like family" - but concerns are growing that financial pressures could force services to be cut back.

Joyce Gregson's husband Iain Gregson, who has Parkinson's disease, is one of 800 patients across the North East who the team visit every year. Visits during the night allow her to get some rest.

The boss of Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle has already told ITV Tyne Tees this week that she could be forced to cut services including inpatient beds and staff over mounting financial strains.

Staff at the end of life charity are already struggling to meet demand for patients needing overnight care at home and fear this service could be hit.

Speaking to ITV Tyne Tees, Joyce said visits from the staff were a lifeline .

"They don't come every night, but when they ring and say do you want someone it’s like 'god yes thank you'," she said. "They are a great support. I look at them as family, they’re like sister, nieces, cousins."

The Hospice Care At Home service supports Ian and Joyce from 10pm until 7 the next morning.

Nurse Beth Abbott said: "You see the difference when someone gets up in the morning after having a good night's sleep and are rested.

"They feel equipped to deal with the day ahead. People think it could be quite a sad role but actually there’s a lot of love, a lot of joy."

Meanwhile, another aspect of Marie Curie's community team is the befriending service which sees volunteers visit patients in their homes to have a chat over a cup of tea, or run errands.

Maureen Greig, 91, has cancer and is losing her sight. She told ITV Tyne Tees the service had been invaluable in enhancing her life.

"It's enabling me to have some resemblance of a normal life for a bit longer," said Maureen.

"The world gets narrower and narrower because you can't go out into it, and getting somebody else in, suddenly you're part of the world again."

Simon Kendal, a volunteer for the befriending service, said: "I've helped three clients now and it's really, really fantastic because, you know, they really, really need your help.

"In terms of Maureen, she's an amazing person and she's got a wonderful wit. We go out and we do shopping and then we come back and we chat for about an hour and a half and we put the world to right."

But, as Christmas approaches, attention is turning to next year and the tough financial situation facing the Marie Curie hospice in Newcastle's West End, where the community team are based.

Like so many hospices, it is struggling financially and they are already unable to meet demand.

Without greater government support, staff worry services including home visits will be cut.

Lynn Beston, clincial nurse manager at Marie Curie, said: "If we had more finances, then we could actually employ more staff, where more families could get that support in the community.

"We've got one chance to get it right and I think if our staff can make that difference to a family to make that last Christmas as best they can possibly have, then that's making lasting memories."

And Marie Curie in Newcastle is not alone in facing financial concerns.

On Wednesday (11 December), St Cuthbert’s Hospice, in Durham, announced it may be forced to make staffing reductions and close vital services in a bid to manage an increasing gap in its finances.

Around 28 staff from across the organisation face redundancy as the charity struggles to cope with growing financial pressures.

CEO of St Cuthbert’s Hospice, Paul Marriott, told ITV Tyne Tees: "We have people who are used to breaking bad news and people who are used to showing extraordinary compassion. Whereas that's normally given to our patients and guests, we found that turned towards other staff.

"People have been incredibly supportive to each other - lots of hugs, lots of tears. We've got staff here who've worked here for over 20 years.

"Incredible loyalty, incredible generosity - people go way beyond the extra mile in terms of what they do. To be telling those staff that their jobs may be insecure now is a horrible thing to have to do."

A survey earlier this year by Hospice UK, which represents more than 200 hospices across the UK, found that at least a fifth of them have either cut services in the last year or are planning to do so.

Hospice UK also said the state of the hospice sector’s finances is now the worst it has been for 20 years.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are working to make sure everyone has access to high-quality end of life care.

“The choices the Chancellor made in the Budget allowed us to invest another £26 billion in the NHS. We are looking at how we can support hospices next year to ensure they are sustainable.”

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