Hospice set to close nursing home

A hospice in East Sussex has announced it will close a nursing home that provides palliative care for patients.

St Michael's Hospice in Hastings and Rother will close the St Augustine's Nursing Home in February.

Several people will be made redundant by the closure, which was caused by "continued economic uncertainties".

The home currently cares for nine long-term residents. St Michael's Hospice has 30 beds at its main site and offers out patient and home visit services.

Charity deficits

St Augustine's registered manager, Maxine Clist, said: "This has been a very difficult decision to propose and, should it be finalised, I will do everything possible to make this transition as easy as possible for all our residents and their families."

The charity confirmed that the move could lead to a "number of redundancies", but said it would offer voluntary redundancy and early retirement to staff.

Celia Pyke-Lees, the charity's chief executive, said: "The continued economic uncertainties facing St Michael's, and indeed many other charities throughout the UK, have made it necessary to review the current activities undertaken by the Hospice company.

"St Michael's has experienced a deficit for the last two years, totalling a loss of some £520,000. Although we currently have reserves in place, as recommended by the Charity Commission, the hospice cannot continue to sustain future deficits on this scale."