PRESS RELEASE from PETER AINSWORTH MP

Press release for immediate release: 15th December 2008

CATERHAM MARIE CURIE HOSPICE:
CONDITION - TERMINAL

East Surrey MP Peter Ainsworth says:

"We must end uncertainty for patients, families and staff."

He also made the following plea to the Cancer Charity: "Please put closure plans on hold until alternatives can be properly explored."

Statement by Peter Ainsworth MP:

On Friday 12th December I visited the Marie Curie Hospice and attended the regular morning meeting of doctors, nurses, social workers and bereavement counsellors, chaired by Dr Jane Wand, the Hospice Medical Director.

Also in attendance were four unexpected representatives of the Marie Curie charity Head Office.

The Marie Curie charity is in the process of closing the Caterham hospice and terminating its provision of the specialist medical services which it provides to people in Caterham and across East Surrey, Reigate and South Croydon.

I felt privileged to witness, at first hand, the work of these remarkable people. Each case was discussed with the highest level of professionalism, expertise, and compassion. It brought home to me that, every single day, Marie Curie staff deal with individuals and families who are confronting the greatest challenge of all: the end of life.

The Caterham Marie Curie staff act as a team for the benefit of the community, sharing knowledge and professional expertise and offering specialist care. This unique team is now at risk of being dismantled.

Whilst I have nothing but admiration for the work that Marie Curie has done nationally for many years, I remain very concerned about the decision to end the service they are currently providing from Caterham.

I am also concerned about the uncertainty the charity’s actions have caused to local families and patients, as well as to hard working staff at the hospice. In an attempt to end this uncertainty I have some questions:

• The charity insists that their decision has nothing to do with its financial circumstances. They say that they are financially in a good position. In these difficult times, we must hope that is true. But it begs the question: why are they cutting the service in Caterham if not to save money?
• The Press Release issued by Marie Curie on 24th November was headlined “Charity bids to expand end of life nursing care in Surrey”. What they are planning to do is to close not only the hospice building in Caterham, but the high quality specialist palliative care services which they currently provide; and to make the staff redundant. Why didn’t they say so?
• If what they propose is, as they insist, so much in the interests of local cancer patients and their families, why is it not supported by a single member of the clinical staff at the hospice, or by local GPs?
• Why has the charity allowed so many local people to think that all that is happening is the closure of a building, rather than the ending of a service?
• Why did they tell local media that there would be a “consultation” on the closure, when there was no intention of consulting anyone; other than staff about their redundancy arrangements which the charity is obliged to do by law in any case?
• Why didn’t Marie Curie give more notice to staff of their intention to end the service in Caterham? They have said that they want to end the service in March. The reality is that staff have little time to plan their futures. For understandable reasons, although their concerns are primarily for patients, they will already be looking for jobs elsewhere. This has raised doubts about the viability of the service beyond Christmas.
• When did Marie Curie first give notice to local GPs and Surrey PCT of their intentions? It is the NHS which is now being expected to pick up and run the services which Marie Curie is ending.
• According to the organisation representing local GPs: “The overwhelming view of local GPs is that the short notice period given by the Charity falls well below the standards that one would expect of such a prominent national Charity and potentially will compromise patient care”
• If the charity had worked more closely with local GPs and NHS bodies, and advised them of their intentions before announcing them, would patient care have been better protected?

It is clear that the Marie Curie charity is hoping that the NHS and a handful of far flung hospices will now carry on the work that they seem determined to abandon.

The NHS has set out an End of Life Strategy and local health officials and clinicians are still in the process of working out how to respond. This process may well take another twelve months. In this context the abrupt actions of the Marie Curie charity are even harder to understand. I therefore call on the Marie Curie charity to put its closure plans on hold until the NHS, local GPs and other stakeholders including charities have had time to consider the implications of the planned closure and make alternative provisions.

I am copying this statement to the Marie Curie charity in the hope of obtaining positive answers, and with the aim of ending the uncertainty which is affecting families, patients and Marie Curie staff at this time.

This can also be found on Peter Ainsworth’s website