Important Announcement – Service Closures

A Message from Helen Glenister, Chief Executive of Isabel Hospice 

I need to share some very difficult news. Due to sustained financial pressures, the Isabel Hospice Board of Trustees have made the hard decision to close our solely charity-funded services — Living Well, Compassionate Communities, and Children’s Services. 

This step has been taken to safeguard the hospice’s long-term financial sustainability and to ensure the continuation of our specialist palliative and end-of-life care for the community of eastern Hertfordshire. 

We aim to keep these services running until 31st March 2026, providing time for patients, families, and staff to plan and prepare while ensuring continuity of support. 

The decision comes in response to unprecedented funding challenges across the UK hospice sector, with rising costs, inflation, and National Insurance increases placing extraordinary financial pressure on hospices, which rely heavily on charitable donations. While the NHS contributes 30% to the running of Isabel Hospice core services, the charity still depends on fundraising, retail and other income sources to cover the other 70%. 

 Living Well, Children’s Services, and Compassionate Communities have touched so many lives: 

• Living Well provides therapeutic support, wellbeing programmes, and practical care to help people maintain independence and manage the challenges of life-limiting conditions. 

• Children’s Services supports children and young people, including pre- and post-bereavement counselling. 

• Compassionate Communities is a volunteer-led programme that helps people who are elderly, frail, isolated, or grieving. 

While these closures are deeply saddening, Isabel Hospice will continue to operate our core services, including the Inpatient Unit (IPU), Specialist Community Services and Hospice at Home, Family Support for adults, and our 24-hour Advice Line, reaching hundreds of people in our community each year — all completely free of charge, but not without cost. 

I want to thank our staff, volunteers, and supporters for their dedication and compassion. The people we care for and the community we serve remain at the heart of everything we do. 

Isabel Hospice continues to rely on charitable donations to sustain our core services. While these service closures are necessary now, your ongoing support will help protect and sustain the remaining core services so that we can continue to care for local people and their families across eastern Hertfordshire. 

Every donation, no matter the size, makes a real and immediate difference to local people living with life-limiting illnesses. Please donate, fundraise, or share our message, so we can continue to be there for local people at the most difficult time in their lives.  

Thank you for standing with us during this challenging time. 

Dr Helen Glenister, Chief Executive