St Clare's campaigners say chances of bringing palliative care back to Jarrow have 'vastly improved' after 'positive' talks

Earlier this year former nurse, Kay Smith launched a last-minute petition to bring end-of-life care back to the former St Clare’s Hospice building in Primrose Terrace.

A total of 13,500 South Tyneside residents signed, but plans to take it to Number 10 were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The borough has been without palliative care provision since the St Clare’s collapsed into insolvency in 2019.

Health chiefs previously said that the former base is unlikely to be reopened, but the prospect has been raised of a dedicated facility, possibly at or near South Tyneside District Hospital.

Now Kay has revealed that NHS bosses have agreed to work with her to find the ‘best possible’ site for a palliative care hub.

Following a recent virtual meeting with Matt Brown, director of operations at South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group and Dr Jon Tose she said she is confident that their chances of bringing palliative care back to Primrose Terrace have ‘vastly improved’.

Kay, whose partner Alan Price was cared for at St Clare’s before he passed away in 2017, commented: “It was really positive. We all agreed the palliative care hub needs to be the correct model to give the best possible care to the people of South Tyneside and their families and where it's going to be situated will be fundamental to its success.”

She continued: “We talked about the pros and cons of having this hub at the hospital and at having it back at Primrose Terrace. They listened and took on board the residents’ points of view and agreed – as they want what's best for the people of South Tyneside - that they will take another look at the options before they make their final decision.”

NHS chiefs had intended to reveal further details of plans to replace the former St Clare’s Hospice in May, but the update was delayed due to all efforts being focused on coronavirus.

Kay added: “There are no promises, but after the meeting and having the voices of 13,500 people with me, I feel our chances have vastly improved.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper.

We have arranged a special 20 per cent off subscription offer for people to take advantage of. Visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk, choose the newspaper title, the type of subscription and enter your details.

Thank you