Isabel Hospice in Welwyn Garden City has taken the decision to temporarily close the doors of its in-patient unit for new admissions, due to staff sickness and nursing vacancies.

Director of clinical services, Elizabeth Paske, said: “The world is at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and we are not immune from this at Isabel Hospice.

"Our clinical teams have been working tirelessly throughout to support the NHS and the communities and patients we serve. This has put a huge strain on our staff and volunteers, who have needed to isolate and shield, as we all do."

“With this in mind, along with many other healthcare providers, we are experiencing challenges maintaining staffing levels to deliver our services. We have therefore taken the difficult decision to temporarily close the in-patient unit for new admissions."

“In our community, our Hospice at Home team and Community Nurse Specialists are still visiting patients where it’s essential for pain and symptom control, otherwise we are supporting patients by telephone and video consultation.

"Our 24-hour clinical advice line continues to be fully available to patients, families and professionals and we will also continue to take referrals for bereavement counselling for children, young people and adults, although some support services have moved to telephone or video links.

“We would like to thank all the staff and volunteers who are supporting us through this challenging time. We are continuously monitoring the situation and will re-open the in-patient unit to new admissions as soon as possible.”

As a hospice, they are working closely with their partners to continue to provide the care that our community needs. And are very grateful to the community for the support during what has been an incredibly challenging time.

If you have any questions, please contact them here. If you would like to find out more about our nursing vacancies, visit the job vacancies pages.