Marie Curie Woolton to permanently close its inpatient unit

Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end of life charity, has confirmed today (Weds, 2 July) that it will not reopen the inpatient unit at its hospice on Speke Road in Woolton.  

The hospice remains open for all other services, including outpatient clinics, wellbeing services and will act as a base for its Enhanced Hospice Care at Home service which delivers expert specialist palliative and end of life care to people in their own homes. The building will also continue to be the operational base for its North West team which delivers hospice care in the community across the region. 

The charity’s Board of Trustees took the difficult decision to permanently close the unit after the Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB), which plans and buys NHS services for the Liverpool region, confirmed it could not provide sustainable, long-term funding above existing arrangements. 

Marie Curie remains fully committed to the people of Liverpool and will now focus on delivering end of life and palliative care to as many people as possible in their own homes and through a range of outpatient services with the continued support of the ICB.  

Marie Curie Chief Executive, Matthew Reed, said:

“This has been an incredibly tough decision. We understand it will be difficult news for future patients, our staff and volunteers and the local community and we thank them for their support through a period of uncertainty. 

“I would like to assure all those who need end of life or palliative care now that we continue to provide this through our Enhanced Hospice Care at Home service – which we seek to expand further – and our outpatient clinics through which we can support more people with the funds we have available. We will also continue to work closely with other hospices and hospitals in Liverpool when patients need inpatient care.  

“Like our partners at the ICB, we believe everyone should have access to high quality palliative and end of life care and we remain totally committed to play a part in delivering this for the people of Liverpool, recognising that most end of life care is already provided outside hospice buildings. 

“Both the ICB and Marie Curie face significant financial deficits; as a charity, we must ensure our finances are sustainable and our finite funds benefit as many people as possible. 

“We remain fully committed to working with the ICB and our partners to find sustainable ways to provide for palliative and end of life care – including inpatient beds – in Liverpool.  

“We need to reach a long-term solution with government and healthcare system partners as costs rise, and demand grows.  

“Our priority right now is to support our staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to support patients and their loved ones. We also thank the people of Liverpool for their generous support.” 

The in-patient unit at the Marie Curie Hospice, Liverpool paused admissions in summer 2024 due to staffing challenges. At that time, six beds were open. The hospice has not operated at its 26 in-patient bed capacity since the COVID-19 pandemic and has seen progressively fewer patients due to staffing, access and funding challenges post-pandemic.  

Marie Curie is committed to campaigning for palliative and end-of-life care to be properly funded and delivered as a core part of the health service in Liverpool and across the UK.  

Marie Curie’s free Support Line is open to anyone who has been affected by the news and needs emotional or bereavement support. Call 0800 090 2309 or email support@mariecurie.org.uk. 

Find out more about Marie Curie here.

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