Lancaster hospice to increase its end of life care services

The new arrangement means that St John's Hospice which already works across north Lancashire and the South Lakes, can extend its existing night sitting service for end of life care even further.

The new service will come into effect on Sunday August 1, replacing the existing contract with Marie Curie, and will allow people to access more care during the daytime, evenings as well as overnight.

This new approach will enhance the experience of patients, carers and families.

Sue McGraw, chief executive at St John's Hospice, said: "Following extensive engagement carried out by St John's with patients, carers, charities and health & social care professionals, we saw a clear need for additional palliative respite care that could be accessed day, evening and night.

"We have been offering overnight care for a long time and during the pandemic had also started to offer day respite for palliative patients because we wanted to act on this feedback.

"As ever, we are really proud to be offering a local service delivered by local people - after all St John's is supported by the community to deliver its care."

Maddy Bass, director of nursing and quality at St John's Hospice, said: "The Marie Curie staff who currently provide the service are being offered the opportunity to transfer to St John’s Hospice, where they can continue to provide much-needed end of life care.

"We are delighted to be welcoming this skilled team to the St John's family and are really looking forward to working with them.

"To be able to offer increased night sitting services that dovetail with our Day Respite Service, will mean so much to patients, their families and carers.

"Palliative care respite is vital as it helps people who are caring for their loved ones at end of life - it gives families some time to recuperate so that they can better cope with caring for the ones that mean so much to them.

"This is our 35th birthday year, so the arrival of this team with the support of Morecambe Bay CCG is to be celebrated as ultimately it means we can reach more people during one of the most difficult times they will face."