Banburyshire's hospice, Katharine House, set to join forces with Oxford hospital trust to protect its future

Banbury's hospice, Katharine House, is to join forces with the Oxford University Hospitals Trust (OUH) in a bid to protect its future.
Neil Gadsby, Founder President of Katharine House HospiceNeil Gadsby, Founder President of Katharine House Hospice
Neil Gadsby, Founder President of Katharine House Hospice

The hospice, which has been running in Adderbury for the last 30 years, announced this week it is exploring a partnership with the trust that runs the Horton General Hospital, to protect its services during increasingly insecure financial circumstances.

The financial issues - which have led to a current deficit of £500,000 - have arisen out of an anomaly that means end of life care in hospices is not funded as part of the NHS. This has meant Katharine House has had to provide around three quarters of its costs through fundraising and depending on legacies.

This year it will cost Katharine House £4.8 million to provide individualised care to those who need it. That is £13,000 every day. Many hospices have faced the same problems and over the next 20 years, the number of people needing end-of-life care in the UK is predicted to increase by up to 42 per cent.

Angharad Orchard, Chief Executive Officer of Katharine House HospiceAngharad Orchard, Chief Executive Officer of Katharine House Hospice
Angharad Orchard, Chief Executive Officer of Katharine House Hospice

Managers say collaborative partnerships are key to the future, at a time when the NHS and the social care sector need to work more closely.

Chairman of the Katharine House Hospice Trustee Board, Dr Jonathan Williams said: "The excellent service provided to our patients, their relatives and carers is only possible because of the massive contribution of the local community. As a result of this, we have been able to extend the range of services on offer.

"There is, however, a major problem in the system that finances hospice care in this country; our costs have risen and the contribution from Government has shrunk over the years. Many other UK hospices are facing similar problems and partnerships and collaborative working are becoming key to the future of many hospices."

Dr Williams says doing nothing is not an option.

Katharine House was initiated by Neil Gadsby in the aftermath of the tragic death from cancer of his young daughter, Katharine, after whom the hospice is named. Now, with a hugely expanded range of home and clinic services, it supports more than 900 families every year.

Under the new proposals, management of Katharine House's clinical service would transfer to OUH, ensuring a sustainable future and allowing the hospice to protect existing services.

Katharine House Hospice CEO, Angharad Orchard, said: “We need to deliver a broader range of services to more people in the coming years and so we have needed to be open to exploring ways of ensuring that happens.

“Continuing our current model would eventually result in the loss of some of our clinical services due to increasing demand and a deficit in our funding and we simply cannot allow that to happen. This proposal would protect the services we provide.”

If the partnership progresses, the current services provided by Katharine House would be retained. The hospice would remain a charity and would still need to raise £3 million annually to continue. The OUH already has a similar partnership with Sobell House hospice in Oxford.

Under the proposed move, Katharine House would stay in the building that has been its home for almost 30 year and the 10 beds in the inpatient unit would also remain. There will be no cuts to services or closures as a result of the proposal.

Founder President Neil Gadsby said: "Having nurtured the project from the beginning, it seemed natural to take on the day-to-day management of the organisation, which I did

for the next ten years. During that time, the hospice grew from a day unit catering for 80 patients a year to one supporting over 500 annually through a wide range of services.

"When I retired in 2016, more than 800 people a year were being supported and the total cared for by the hospice in 30 years exceeded 10,000. An amazing achievement by the community. What is proposed is, I think, a sensible way to preserve the hospice service for future users. But the need for funding will continue and I hope the community will go on

being supportive in what I believe is an important, symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship with Katharine House."

Ms Orchard said: “At this stage the hospice Trustees are fully exploring this option to enable them to make an informed decision. At every step, we have made the needs of our community our top priority. The aim of working collaboratively with OUH is to maintain and improve services for adults with life-limiting illnesses, making sure the right care is in place at the right time where it is needed most.

"The needs of the 156,000 people in our community are very different to when our journey as a hospice started. We need to adapt to the requirements of our community if we are to serve people as they want and as they deserve.”

Jason Dorsett, Executive Director lead at OUH for the potential partnership with Katharine House, said: “We are committed to working in partnership to provide the best possible care for patients in Oxfordshire and beyond. We look forward to the benefits our new partnership with Katharine House Hospice will bring to patients and the staff who care for them. Our culture of compassionate excellence is a perfect fit with Katharine House’s reputation for high quality hospice care which is so valued by the community.”

Staff and Banbury area GPs and associated professionals have been told about the proposal this week. If confirmed, the partnership with OUH will come into effect in Spring 2021.

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