Hospice faces axe as scandal-hit care home chain strike deal for new hospital

A HOSPICE praised by watchdogs could face closure and its dying patients may be put into the hands of a controversial care home chain.

St Margaret’s Hospice in Glasgow is thought to be the top facility of its kind in the country.

But a redevelopment which will be part run by Southern Cross Healthcare will mean the hospice losing £40,000 of funding a week.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) have done a deal to create a privately built hospital at Blawarthill in the city, which will include a care home and residential flats.

The new contract will see 30 long term care beds moved from St Margaret’s and the loss of £1.2million a year, which could mean it will have to shut down.

The Care Commission gave the hospice an “excellent” rating in every aspect in their latest inspection report, which is virtually unheard of.

Southern Cross are being contracted by the NHS to oversee the care home and the NHS provision which could include tending to some of the needs of the elderly dying.

The care home chain are the largest in Britain and have one of the worst complaint records in Scotland.

From April 2004 to August 2008, the Care Commission received 684 complaints about Southern Cross homes in Scotland.

Of those, 169 were withdrawn. But of the 464 that remained, 373 were completely or partially upheld.

Professor Leo Martin, chairman of the hospice, said the decision was a disaster for St Margaret’s and the people who use it.

He said: “The members of the health board should hang their heads in shame. At the very least, some staff would lose their jobs.

“At worst the viability of the hospice is threatened.

Less than a mile from St Margaret’s, Clyde Court Care home owned by Southern Cross has had 11 complaints against it, upheld or partially upheld and this year has failed to score above “adequate” in any category in its inspection report.

St Margaret’s has six smiling faces, the new symbols used by the commission, beside all of its categories.

St Margaret’s has a state of the art facility, a garden, a hydrotherapy pool, sauna and steam room. It has two wards, one of which provides specialist hospice care to people of all ages and the other providing continuing care for the elderly on behalf of the health board.

Glasgow is reducing its number of long term care beds across the city.

The new Blawarthill hospital will be completed in 2013 but at the moment the sick and dying elderly are housed in prefabricated buildings on the site.