This week Witney MP Robert Courts visited Katharine House for a tour of the hospice and to find out more about the work we do to support local people facing life-limiting illness in our hospice and out in the community.

Our services are available to around 155,000 people in the local area, and many of those people live in Robert’s constituency. Last year we supported more than 130 people in Chipping Norton and the surrounding area through our hospice, community nursing teams, outpatient services and bereavement support services.

Chief Executive, Angharad Orchard, introduced Robert to some of Katharine House’s services at the hospice in Adderbury and asked for his support in raising awareness with the Government in Westminster following its decision not to offer charitable hospices the same financial support it will give the NHS to accommodate staff pay increases across the health service.

The hospice warns that the government’s decision will have unintended consequences for hospices and means Katharine House will face a significant additional call on resources that are already stretched.

Angharad said:

“I was very grateful for the opportunity to meet with Robert and discuss the services we provide, and I’m delighted he will support us as we raise awareness of the significant challenges we will face with the Government’s current position.

We hope that with the help of local MPs we can reduce the impact on charitable hospices and ensure we can continue to provide the highest quality of care to anyone who needs us in our community".