St Christopher’s Hospice welcomes Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to officially open new ward
St Christopher’s Hospice, the home of the modern hospice movement, was pleased to welcome Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to open a new ward on Thursday 18 December.
Mr Streeting met with the hospice’s Chief Executive, Steve Smith, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Neil Goulden, and Ward Matron Katie Grace, alongside other clinical staff as he was shown the refurbishment of the hospice’s Inpatient Unit, which is being partly funded by the government’s capital funding grant for hospices in England.
Liam Conlon MP, who represents the Beckenham and Penge constituency where St Christopher’s is located, also attended the visit.
Mr Streeting cut the ribbon as he officially re-opened Nuffield Ward which is the first of three wards to be refurbished. He also met with patients Jennifer Morgan and Jayshri Patel who were staying on the newly refurbished Nuffield Ward.
St Christopher’s Inpatient Unit, which is made up of three wards, is undergoing a £3.6M upgrade, of which more than £2M came from the government’s emergency funding for hospices, announced in December 2024.
The upgrades at St Christopher’s are focused on improving the look and feel of the Inpatient Unit, making rooms bigger and more homely, and addressing essential infrastructure issues on a building which is almost 60 years old.
The work also includes enhancing staff areas for the dedicated teams and the installation of a hoist system so people can be moved more safely and comfortably, whilst also protecting staff.
In total, the government gave out £100M of capital funding to adult hospices in England over two years.
Steve Smith, CEO of St Christopher’s, says:
“It was a pleasure to have the Secretary of State visit St Christopher’s today, to show him both the great work hospices do, and how we’re putting the capital funding to use by investing in significant upgrades of our wards, ensuring those spaces are more welcoming and homely for the people staying with us.
“The hospice sector is really appreciative of this capital funding, which was announced last year, and the recognition shown by Mr Streeting and his department for the vital role hospices play in the healthcare sector.”
“As the home of the modern hospice movement, and in line with the government’s mission, we believe everyone across the country should have access to high-quality palliative and end of life care when they need it. For that to become a reality, hospices need a sustainable funding model and we were happy to discuss that with the Secretary of State during his visit.”
Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, says:
“This has been a visit I will never forget. I met some amazing people here at St Christopher’s.
“It was a privilege to meet some of the patients who are approaching end of life, who’ve been willing to share their experience of love and care and joy at what is inevitably a very difficult moment for them in their lives.
“We took a decision not long after I came into government as Health and Social Care Secretary that we were going to deliver the biggest hospice funding in a generation, £100M over two years to help hospices like this one to build the new facilities, the new kit, the new technology to provide better and more hospice care, either in great buildings like this or even in people’s homes.
“So I had the massive privilege of seeing how a decision we’ve taken in government has translated into real change in practice.
“The new ward is fantastic. It’s going to make a real difference to people. And that combined with the £80M we’re putting into children’s hospices over the next few years means that all of those charitable donations from the public are going to go even further to making a difference.
“We know we need to do more as a government on hospices.
“I just want to say a massive thank you to the public for all of their kindness, all of their donations. Please keep giving to your local hospices if you can afford to do so, because it means that people at a very delicate stage in their lives will receive the love, the care, the support and the good death that everyone deserves.”
Liam Conlon, MP for Beckenham and Penge, says:
“I’m delighted to have had our Health Secretary Wes Streeting here to open the newly refurbished wing, and to meet staff and volunteers at St Christopher’s.
“St Christopher’s means so much to our community, supporting thousands of patients and families each year, and everyone has a connection to them. I know the value they bring, providing a level care that nobody else could provide, and that’s why I have been campaigning for sustainable funding for them.
“I’m really proud this Government has invested record funding in St Christopher’s already, and I’ll keep working to help them secure even more so they can support more patients and families across our community”.
Jennifer Morgan, a patient who lives in Deptford, south London and is currently staying on the new wards, met Mr Streeting during his visit. She says:
“I knew I was going to get pain management, peace, stability, here and that’s what I have had.
“It’s all the tiny, all the little tiny things sometimes people tend to forget sometimes. That’s what carried me, at St Christopher’s. It’s been wellness, stillness, kindness, love, the caring. And that is for me, for St Christopher’s.”
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