St Raphael’s Hospice, Cheam, will be run as a sustainable and independent local charity from autumn 2019. Originally formed as part of St Anthony’s Hospital, with which it shares a site, St Raphael’s is one of several charitable Works founded and administered as part of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross of Liege.

On Monday 13 May the Trustees stood alongside the Hospice Management Team to share the news with Hospice staff and volunteers.

The Hospice, which provides end of life care to patients in Sutton and Merton, will continue to support the community with excellent care, both at the Hospice and through in-home care support. St Raphael’s Hospice cares for 1,000 patients every year.

Brigadier Mike Roycroft, Chief Executive Officer of St Raphael’s Hospice, said: “Over a number of years we have been planning in detail for a long-term independent and sustainable future for St Raphael’s. From the autumn, the Hospice facilities will be transferred into a new charity, still called St Raphael’s Hospice, which will continue to provide and develop the same quality services that it always has. Day-to-day services and activities will continue to run as they do now.  Our patients and their families will continue to receive excellent care and support.”

Sister Veronica Hagen, The Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross of Liege, commented: “St Raphael’s Hospice provides essential services to many people across Merton and Sutton. By securing a self-sustaining future for the organisation, the community will continue to access its excellent services for years to come."

“The distinctive Catholic ethos and values of the Hospice, which we have developed and nurtured over many years, will be protected and preserved by the trustees of the new charity. On behalf of the trustees of The Daughters of the Cross, I would like to thank all staff for all of the great work they do for all the patients and families relying on St Raphael’s, and for all the comfort, support and reassurance they offer to individuals and families in our name.”

The initial Trustees for the new charity, St Raphael’s Hospice, are Norman McWhinney (currently Chair of the Hospice's Advisory Committee), Marian Norman (currently Vice Chair) and Sister Veronica Hagen. They will be joined by further appointees as the organisation prepares for an independent future.

As part of St Raphael’s Hospice’s transition into an independent charity, the Daughters of the Cross have agreed with the new Trustees an endowment to the Hospice to fund the management plan put forward by the Hospice to take it towards a self-sustaining future.

The target date for the transfer is Monday 30 September 2019 but, as there are many detailed steps that need to be undertaken before the legal transfer takes place, there must be some flexibility about the date of St Raphael’s independence.