Marie Curie closed down its permanent inpatient facility last summer and announced last week new beds would be created on a part-time basis
A protest took place at the hospice last year(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
The creation of a temporary palliative care ward at one of Liverpool’s leading hospitals “does not replace” the loss of a specialist inpatient hospice closed down last summer, a campaign group has warned. It was announced last July that despite a backlash from the campaigners, former staff and service users, Marie Curie would close down its inpatient unit at its site in Woolton.
The hospice, based on Speke Road, housed a 26-bed inpatient unit where people with terminal illnesses are supported and cared for in their final weeks and days as well as community services and day services. Six months on, Marie Curie North West announced last week how it will supply more than a dozen staff to operate a temporary ward at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.
It is expected the ward will operate until October 31. Liverpool Hospice Action Group, who campaigned to protect the inpatient unit in south Liverpool, has said while it welcomes the creation of a new ward, the provision has been put together as an “emergency, short-term measure.”
Last year, Marie Curie said its board of trustees took the “difficult decision to permanently close the unit” after the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB), which plans and buys NHS services for the Liverpool region, confirmed it could not provide sustainable, long-term funding above existing arrangements.
Matthew Reed, Marie Curie chief executive, said those who need end of life or palliative care can now access it through an Enhanced Hospice Care at Home service, which it will seek to expand, and outpatient clinics through which it can support more people with the funds it has available.
In a statement shared with the ECHO, the action group said palliative care could not be seen as a “nice extra,” describing it as an “essential public service.” The statement said: “Liverpool Hospice Action Group welcomes the establishment of a temporary palliative care ward at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, but it is essential to be honest about why this provision is needed.
Protests against the Marie Curie Hospice closure in Woolton, Liverpool. Photo by Colin Lane(Image: )
“These beds have not arisen from Marie Curie’s strategic planning or investment. They are an emergency, short‑term measure put in place by the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB following Marie Curie’s decision to close Liverpool’s only dedicated inpatient hospice unit in Woolton.
“Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are only in this position because Marie Curie paused admissions to its inpatient beds in July 2024, closed the unit permanently in July 2025, and the hospice wards have lain empty ever since. This sequence of decisions created the gap in provision that the ICB is now attempting to fill through temporary measures.”
Campaigners said the loss of beds in Woolton should never have been allowed to happen, resulting in the displacement of patients and families who relied on local specialist care. The group added: “Palliative care is not a “nice extra,” it is an essential public service.”
The action group said while the temporary ward was a positive development, “this must not be misrepresented as the creation of new, sustainable inpatient services” and raised questions over Marie Curie’s commitment to the city. They said: “The arrangement is time‑limited, due to end on 31 October 2026, and does not replace what has been lost.
“The new ward exists because local people, clinicians, campaigners, workers and elected representatives — from all political parties — refused to accept managed decline. LHAG will continue to advocate robustly for the reinstatement of permanent, fully funded, specialist inpatient hospice care within the city. Public money must come with public accountability. If organisations take funding to deliver essential services, they must deliver — or face consequences.
“This is not simply a matter of operational models or funding frameworks. It is about dignity, compassion, and the right to appropriate care at the most vulnerable time in a person’s life. LHAG will ensure that this human reality remains at the centre of the public conversation.”
Protests against the Marie Curie Hospice closure in Woolton, Liverpool. Photo by Colin Lane(Image: )
Marie Curie confirmed a total of 15 staff would support delivery of care on the new ward. These work across a range of roles and disciplines including medical, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social work.
The staff will work between the community, Broadgreen and Woolton in what the charity said would allow them to continue to support and care for people in their preferred place.
The ICB is currently undertaking an assessment of what services and support the community need in the longer term once the ward closes in the autumn.
A spokesperson for Marie Curie North West said: “We are pleased to share the news that a number of Marie Curie colleagues have been seconded on a temporary basis to support the delivery of care on a new inpatient palliative care ward at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (LHCH). This is good news for patients across Liverpool who will have access to these inpatient beds alongside the medical, wellbeing and community services that Marie Curie continues to provide from our hospice in Woolton.”
The action group’s position was supported by Your Party members on Liverpool Council, including Cllr Lucy Williams, who previously worked at the Woolton hospice. They said: “Liverpool is finally getting a new palliative care ward but let’s be honest about why this is needed.
Cllr Lucy Williams. Photo by Colin Lane(Image: )
“The closure of the Marie Curie inpatient unit was a huge betrayal to our city.” Cllr Mirna Juarez, independent, represents Much Woolton and Hunts Cross.
She added: “This temporary 10 bed facility is very much needed and will be welcomed but why is it only temporary? Palliative care should not be temporary but a basic right.
“Even with these 10 beds we are still at a deficit of 16 beds due to the closure of the Marie Curie Hospice in-patient ward on Speke Road. As a result, there has been a palliative care crisis in the city for the past 18 months.”
The Liverpool hospice remains open for all other services, including outpatient clinics, wellbeing services and will act as a base for its Enhanced Hospice Care at Home service which delivers expert specialist palliative and end of life care to people in their own homes. The building will also continue to be the operational base for its north west team which delivers hospice care in the community across the region.