Protesters gather to demand hospice reopens and question funding
A large group of campaigners gathered outside the unit on Saturday afternoon and held placards criticising Marie Curie for not "taking up our offer" to fundraise for the unit. Some wore yellow t-shirts with the slogans "Save our Hospice" and "Save our Ward".
Independent Liverpool councillor Lucy Williams, who attended a protest at the unit on Saturday, told the BBC: "It's been a year since they closed their doors to the inpatient unit and it's been a year that they've continued to receive funding from the ICB."So we're here today to ask where has that money gone and why haven't they delivered that service that they're getting commissioned to provide."Williams worked at the hospice as a palliative care nurse for two years, and said: "People's relatives and loved ones have died here and a lot of them have committed their time to fundraising for this hospice."We found out over this year that money doesn't come to this hospice, it goes into a national pot - so throughout the closure this fundraising has continued and people haven't been aware that the inpatient unit in Liverpool has been closed."
'Get the ward open'
Williams said an "easy" resolution was to immediately re-open the ward. She said: "They're receiving the funding to have the ward open, surely they can have one or two beds? That's better than none at all. "So get the ward open and if Marie Curie aren't competent to provide the service then the ICB need to commission someone who is."The Marie Curie spokesperson said the charity hoped to reach an agreement with the NHS integrated care board "as soon as possible".While admissions to the inpatient unit "had been paused", the hospice had remained open and was providing palliative and end of life care to "thousands of people in Liverpool in different ways", they added. The spokesperson said the ICB was aware its funding was being used to provide these services.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Grandmother died of sepsis after being misdiagnosed with stomach complaint
A grandmother died of sepsis after doctors failed to recognise signs of a urinary tract obstruction, a coroner has found. Suzanne Edwards, 71, of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, visited her GP on Nov 29 2024 with abdominal pain and vomiting but despite urgent blood and urine tests she was not sent to hospital. Later that day her symptoms worsened and she went to A&E at Milton Keynes University Hospital, Bucks. Her test results were indicative of systemic inflammation and dehydration but she was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and discharged. Her condition deteriorated further and the following day her family called NHS 111. She was directed to an urgent care centre and transferred to Bedford Hospital where clinicians identified a 7mm stone in her urinary tract and sepsis. She underwent emergency surgery but died later on the evening of Dec 1 from septic shock. 'Heart of our family' Stacey Edwards, her daughter, said: 'My mum was the heart of our family – full of warmth, compassion and humour. 'It's devastating to know that her death may have been avoided if the signs of sepsis had been recognised sooner.' Her family described her as 'an unbelievably kind and caring woman with a wicked sense of humour and fun'. She leaves behind husband Terence, two children and two granddaughters. Stacey said: 'When she visited her GP she was so unwell she used a wheelchair. 'After she was taken to A&E we were told it was likely gastroenteritis. She was given IV fluids and pain relief but she was still in pain and struggling. 'There was very little communication from doctors and when she was discharged we were simply told to come back if symptoms returned. 'At home, things got worse. But because she'd been examined by medical professionals we thought she just needed time to recover. 'The call we received later that evening asking us to come in urgently is something we'll never forget. 'Neither is watching her suffer in those final days.' Jewellery went missing Soon after her death Mrs Edwards' family realised her jewellery worth thousands of pounds – three necklaces and four bracelets – were missing. Stacey said: 'Mum never took off her jewellery. 'It is heartbreaking to think someone may have taken advantage of such a tragic situation.' Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust launched a full investigation and search at the time but the items were never found. Tom Osborne, the senior coroner for Milton Keynes, recorded a narrative verdict saying there was a failure to recognise the signs of a urinary tract obstruction, leading to missed opportunities to treat Mrs Edwards before sepsis developed.
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Parents, beware the devastating consequences of measles
After reading the letters about vaccine misinformation and hesitancy (Measles surge shows why vaccinations are crucial, 20 July), I felt I must write to tell you of one unrecognised cause of the drop in vaccine uptake: when I worked as a community school nursing sister in the 1980s, with 11 state schools and a number of private schools that took up the vaccine service, we had 98% uptake of vaccines in the school setting. This was due to the system of sending letters home to parents requesting their consent and following up by phone, if necessary, by the school office staff. The children came in class batches. Then the local health authority decided that this service should be discontinued and parents were invited to take their child to the local GP surgery for their vaccinations. The uptake plummeted to less than 40% of eligible children due to children not taking the letters home, or parents forgetting or losing the letter – or being unable to take time off to take their child to the surgery. When I asked the GPs at the local health centre what the uptake for the cohort of eligible children was, they looked at their records and were surprised, but reluctant to do anything about it. Health visitors were responsible for, and very successful in, advising new mothers when vaccines were due, where to get them and encouraging uptake. It should be compulsory for all vaccines for preschool children (which includes measles) to be done before a child is admitted to school, as in many other countries. As a midwife, I saw a baby born to a mother who had contact with rubella in early pregnancy. The little girl was born with a body rash, had bilateral cataracts and was totally deaf. She was was very ill. Schools for deaf children may return again for these children if vaccination is not taken up for whatever reason. How StephensLiphook, Hampshire I contracted measles just before the NHS was established. With it came serious ear infections, burst eardrums, etc. There were no vaccines, just ear drops. Over the years the infections and operations continued and now, aged 82, I have no hearing with complications. I beg people to think seriously about vaccination. The consequences of measles can sometimes be devastating. Jean JacksonSeer Green, Buckinghamshire I caught measles aged six in 1953, at a time when parents hoped their children would get it (and chicken pox and mumps) so as to gain immunity. My dad, aged 54, had not had measles as a boy, caught it from me and nearly died. The risk of not vaccinating children is not just to WallLondon
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'I thought my snoring was from blocked nose, but it was something far worse'
Cornwall mum-of-two Claire Barbery was left in shock after what she thought was a blocked nose and snoring turned out to be something much more serious A mum-of-two was left stunned after what she thought was a harmless blocked nose and new snoring habit turned out to be a sign of a rare and aggressive cancer, which was already eroding her skull. Claire Barbery, 51, from Newquay, Cornwall, had no idea her mild symptoms were anything to worry about. In fact, she nearly cancelled the very hospital appointment that would change, and possibly save, her life. Claire, who works in a care home, put her persistent nasal blockage down to repeated Covid tests and thought nothing of the fact that she had suddenly started snoring at night. She said: 'I started snoring, which I'd never done before. I was waking up breathing through my mouth. Even then, I nearly cancelled my hospital appointment. I didn't want to waste anyone's time.' But in January 2023, after months of no improvement and with her concerns growing, she finally sought help. The mum had olfactory neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that grows in the upper part of the nasal cavity. Scans revealed a 5cm tumour that had already begun eating away at the bone at the base of her skull. Claire was immediately sent for complex and high-risk surgery at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where consultant surgeon Shahz Ahmed, who specialises in the type of procedure she needed, removed the tumour in a delicate operation that was filmed for Channel 5's gripping documentary Surgeons: A Matter of Life or Death. He explained: 'This was a very rare form of cancer. It had already gone through the skull base and into the base of the brain. If we hadn't acted, it could have spread through her body. The surgery was high risk – we were working close to the brain's main blood supply, with dangers of stroke, seizures, and even death.' The operation was a success, but not without cost. To ensure all the cancer was removed, surgeons had to take out Claire's olfactory bulbs, meaning she's now permanently lost her sense of smell. After her surgery, Claire underwent six gruelling weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She's now under close monitoring but is slowly returning to work and spending quality time with her husband Gary and daughters Lowenna, 27, and Keizha, 25. 'I very nearly didn't go to that appointment,' Claire said. 'I thought, 'There's nothing wrong – don't waste NHS time.' But looking back, that decision could've cost me my life.' Now, as part of World Head and Neck Cancer Day, Claire is working with the UK's Get A-Head Charitable Trust to raise awareness and urge others to take persistent symptoms seriously, no matter how small they seem. She said: 'If you know your body, you've got to push. If something feels wrong – don't ignore it.'
