Why St Clare's won't be reopened - health chiefs answer key questions on end-of-life care plans

End of life patients have been promised a ‘quiet, respectful space’ at a planned new facility in South Shields.
Matt Brown is executive director of operations at the South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).Matt Brown is executive director of operations at the South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
Matt Brown is executive director of operations at the South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The plans are due to go before chiefs at the South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group’s Governing Body on Thursday, September 24.

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And the CCG has also provided further details on what it thinks will be the key questions raised by concerned families in the borough.

What will change about hospice services in South Tyneside in the future?

Our aim is for everyone to have high quality care, whatever their preferences.

We are investing more in community-based services for people who prefer to die at home, as well as private bedrooms in a quiet, respectful space at Haven Court.

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Why have you chosen not to return end of life care to the old St Clare’s Hospice, in Jarrow?

Sadly, it struggled with safety, staffing and financial problems, and inspectors rated it as inadequate and unsafe.

We feel it would be a mistake to repeat those same weaknesses when we can offer people better quality care and more choice.

Will the new service be just another busy hospital ward?

Haven Court offers a quiet, calm and respectful space.

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It will provide four en suite bedrooms in their own section of the building, as well as a dedicated area for families to be close to their loved ones.

Haven Court has its own garden, car park and separate entrance direct from McAnany Avenue.

There’s a ready-made building at the old St Clare’s Hospice site in, Primrose Hill, Jarrow – why not use that?

We know that many people feel an attachment to the building at Primrose, but its location was not ideal for this service.

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We carried out a detailed ‘co-design’ process in which local people and experts helped us to shape our vision for future end of life services, and people were clear that any future end of life care service would benefit from being closer to, but not inside, South Tyneside Hospital.

Haven Court is a prime choice and exactly the sort of facility that will enable us to provide the highest possible standard of care for the future.

Where do people in South Tyneside choose to end their lives?

In recent years, around 66, less than one in 20, deaths per year in South Tyneside took place in a hospice, with an average of 738 people at home or in a care home.

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This proposal will continue to provide community support for the vast majority of people who choose to die at home or in a care home, but will also provide the option for people to choose the new end of life care service proposed for Haven Court.

Why was St Clare’s Hospice shut down?

St Clare’s hospice was an independent charity, and closed in January 2019 because it was insolvent.

The closure of St Clare’s was a sad moment for many people, but it was not an NHS decision.

Will there be a service for people who prefer to die at home?

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Yes. We want people to have more choice, knowing that they will have high quality care, whatever they choose.

We are already investing an extra half a million pounds per year into community palliative care services for people who prefer to be at home, and this will continue.

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