Palliative care unit still not open six months on
A PALLIATIVE care unit that could be offering vital care to patients across South Holland is not open because there is no staff to man it.
The four-bed unit should have opened with the rest of Spalding's Johnson Community Hospital back in June, but six months on the fully-furnished unit remains empty.
Currently there are about 25 people in Lincolnshire waiting for palliative care beds with patients having to travel to Lincoln to access the service.
NHS Lincolnshire says it is in the process of recruiting staff but Spalding Hospice Foundation, which has been raising money to help furnish the unit, says it is taking too long.
Chairman Felicity Clements said: "We want an answer as to why the unit is not open yet.
"If the hold-up is to do with staff recruitment it could be March before it's open.
"It's very frustrating for us. We can't make any more excuses to the people who are raising money for it.
"We are very anxious to see the unit open because there is a real need for it."
Sarah Furley, NHS Lincolnshire cancer and palliative care planning manager, said the beds are part of the end-of-life development, which will see an extra 22 palliative care beds opened across the county.
She said: "Rather than doing this piecemeal, a co-ordinated and planned approach has been adopted so that the service is implemented in a phased way, starting with the Johnson Hospital."
Ms Furley refused to give a timescale on the unit's opening, saying it will vary according to the number, strength and availability of potential applicants.
She added: "We are committed to recruiting staff who have the right expertise to open the beds as soon as possible."
The hospice foundation has taken its concerns to Preston Keeling, chairman of Lincolnshire Local Involvement Network (LINk), who has taken the matter up with NHS Lincolnshire.
He said: "This hospital has been years in the planning and it always included this small unit for palliative care so they have had lots of time to prepare, therefore not having the staff to man it does seem a bit odd.
"Our concerns at the moment are what is the NHS doing at the moment and when are they opening it because we do not want to find that that service is not offered."
* What do you think? Should the unit have been opened at the same time as the hospital? Email your views to rachel.mayfield@jpress.co.uk
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Weather for Spalding
Thursday 09 February 2012
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