Construction of new hospice between Horsham and Crawley is delayed

Building work on the new St Catherine’s hospice facilities were due to start in June this year.

But the charity has now taken the decision to delay the start.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the charity said: “The safety and wellbeing of our patients is always at the centre of everything we do at St Catherine’s.

“At this time, with the complexities of delivering our care during an international pandemic, we must focus all our attention, resources and expertise on delivering our core services.

“With this in mind, we have reviewed the timelines for the move to our new hospice facilities in Pease Pottage, and have taken the decision to delay the start of construction from our planned start of June this year.”

The charity is committed to building a new home for St Catherine’s and plan to commence construction as soon as it is sensible to do so, she added.

The spokeswoman said: “As you can imagine, managing a large build project and planning the move of an organisation like St Catherine’s demands a great deal of resource.

“For now, all our energies need to be focussed on providing outstanding care to our patients and their families when they need it most.

“Thank you for your continued support, which allows us to continue to provide expert hospice care and support to people across your community.

“We hope to be able to provide a further update on our Pease Pottage plans soon.”

To support St Catherine’s Hospice with a donation, please call 01293 447361 or visit: www.stch.org.uk/donate