A CITY-based hospice has revealed that nurses and health care professionals may lose their jobs as part of cuts.

St Richard's Hospice said it was with a "heavy heart" that it would make the equivalent of ten redundancies after revealing rising costs made its future uncertain.

The charity, which recently celebrated its 40th year, has received decreased funding from the NHS and large increases in care costs.

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The hospice has now revealed that ten full-time equivalent roles, such as nurses and other health care professionals, will lose their jobs.

Mike Wilkerson, chief executive of St Richard’s Hospice, said: ”No part of the organisation has been untouched in terms of the cost savings we need to make.

"St Richard’s is, therefore, proposing to redesign care services, introduce new ways of working, and restructure its workforce, which could result in the loss of approximately ten full-time equivalent roles in our clinical services, including nurses and other health care professionals. 

"There is no planned impact on hospice patient beds available or care provision across the county.

“Ensuring St Richard’s can be here for patients and families in the long term is at the heart of everything we do.”

The charity made around £613,000 in savings across its operations but an additional £364,000 had to be saved to secure its future.

Over recent months, it found huge savings across the whole organisation in various departments and has tried to avoid affecting its nursing teams.

St Richard's Hospice revealed it had cut non-pay budgets, froze recruitment, removed vacant roles and reduced working hours.

The charity raised around £368,800 during its Waddle of Worcester charity auction, in which 40 penguins were sold to raise money for the hospice. 

Worcester MP Tom Collins said: "Our hospices in Worcester are a dearly loved and precious part of our community, and they provide incredibly valuable care to patients and their families. 

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"This is sad news, and it reflects the very difficult period that hospices have been through in recent years. 

"Our Labour Government is determined to turn the situation around, to get our NHS back on its feet and see more end-of-life care available. 

"In the budget, we increased NHS day-to-day funding by £22.6 billion and Health Secretary Wes Streeting has recently emphasised his determination to make sure we're protecting our hospices.