Written 08/11/05

A fifth of carers working for East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) are to be made redundant after £600,000 of lottery funding is withdrawn.

The loss of funding means 25 jobs will go and the number of respite care beds will be reduced at its centres in [Milton], Suffolk and Norfolk.

To counteract the cuts, EACH plans to run a home service, with more frequent care sessions in the family home.

The charity will still offer end-of-life care.

Graham Butland, chief executive of EACH, said the loss of jobs was necessary to keep the organisation financially stable.

Family support

"We want to make best use of our resources and by making a more flexible approach and by providing more services in the community, we will be able to provide more sessions of care" he said.

EACH operates three hospice services in the region - at Milton in Cambridgeshire, Quidenham in Norfolk and Ipswich in Suffolk - as well as giving community-based care and support.

Support is also offered to families from Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and south Lincolnshire.

In 2005/2006 alone it will cost £4.7m to run the hospices, with only 10% of money coming from government sources.

From BBC News

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