Staff appeal for show of support to save in-patient ward at Marie Curie Hospice in Woolton

Staff at Woolton’s Marie Curie Hospice have appealed for people to join them in a show of support this Saturday, as they act to save its in-patient ward.

Concerns are growing that the Marie Curie 26-patient unit, which offers vital end-of-life care for the whole of South Liverpool, may never re-open after being closed ‘temporarily’ in July last year.

A demonstration will be held between 12 noon and 2pm outside the hospice in Speke Road to make people’s strength of feeling and support for the hospice clear. 

Garston independent councillor Lucy Williams says: “It will also send a message to Marie Curie’s London executive team that Liverpool needs this hospice ward.”

Members of staff from the hospice unit met local councillors in a confidential meeting on Monday night to discuss their worries and come up with a plan to stand up for its future.

They say they have been left in limbo, and expected to watch helplessly as the service is dismantled.

“But they refuse to stay silent,” adds Lucy. “They have put their heads above the parapet and are ready to fight for what is right.”

It’s feared that despite claims the in-patient unit is merely ‘on pause’ there is only closure ahead, and that staff are being left in the dark and their well-being ignored, while patients who need them are being turned away. 

Cllr. Williams, who is supported by Much Woolton & Hunts Cross Lib Dem Cllr Josie Mullen, and leader and deputy leaders of Liverpool Community Independents Group Cllrs Alan Gibbons and Sam Gorst, explains: “This demonstration is led by a professional group of staff, and will be a peaceful and respectful demonstration.

“They wanted it to be on a Saturday so there will be no patients in the hospice because this demonstration is not to disrupt anything but to make a point, and to raise awareness because many people didn’t know this unit had been closed.

“It’s to send a message that the whole community supports the staff and won’t let anyone strip away this vital service that’s needed. Simply, we want to save our ward.”

Cllr. Williams says they are asking Marie Curie to reveal their plans, and to be open and transparent about the options that are currently being considered.

But she goes on: “Whatever they are, we need this in-patient unit. Community services like community matrons and district nurses are fantastic, but they are under pressure because they are short-staffed.

“They can’t provide 24-7 around the clock care. 

“At night-time there are two district nurses for the whole of the city. It’s impossible for them to do that. And although they can get night sits and things, it’s not what some people want or need.

“We keep talking about patient choice but if they take away this in-patient unit they are taking away choice, not adding it.”

 Cllr. Williams says Marie Curie have said they should know more by the end of March: “But that tells us the decision will be made by the end of March.

“That’s why the staff want to influence that decision while it’s being made, and that’s why there is an urgency. The staff have been patient – this place has been closed since July! – but that patience is wearing thin, and they are worried, and they are fearful.

“We have been inundated with people asking us what they can do and how they can help, so we are hopeful of a good turnout.”

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