East Coast Hospice and St Elizabeth Hospice join forces

St Elizabeth Hospice and East Coast Hospice have announced they will join together following consultation with partners, stakeholders and the local community.

Activities in Great Yarmouth and Waveney will use the name ‘St Elizabeth East Coast Hospice’ while the Ipswich and East Suffolk branch will continue to use the name ’St Elizabeth Hospice’.

St Elizabeth Hospice will also continue to work with East Coast Community Healthcare, which has supported more than 3,700 patients and their families since launching services in Great Yarmouth and Waveney in April 2019.

St Elizabeth Hospice and East Coast Hospice mark their merger. Photo: St Elizabeth Hospice. (Image: St Elizabeth Hospice)

Judi Newman, St Elizabeth Hospice CEO, said it made sense for the charities to join forces "to seek a solution in the most effective manner, with a single call to action for these coastal communities".

Bridget Lowe, acting chair of East Coast Hospice (ECH), said: “After many years of fundraising and running our shops, we are delighted that we have a partner in St Elizabeth Hospice to work together on our mission to grow palliative care services locally for the benefit of the local population.

“The landscape has changed significantly since the charity started in 2007 and we are excited about our future together."

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An artist's impression of the planned East Coast Hospice Margaret Chadd House. Image: East Coast Hospice. (Image: Archant)

ECH was formed in 2007 and said its new palliative care centre would be open by November 2020 following a multi-million pound fundraising drive.

No bricks have been laid yet at the charity's Sidegate Road 7.4 acres site and ECH admitted to taking a financial hit due to the Covid pandemic.

In 2021, this paper reported the charity's accounts revealed it made a loss of £74,500 in the year 2019-2020 taking in the first month of the pandemic.