After 44 years of dedicated service, the St Luke’s Combined Hospices Kenilworth in-patient unit, an 18-bed facility specialising in end-of-life care and family support, will permanently close its doors at the end of this month.
The decision was not financially motivated, says Ronita Mahilall, chief executive officer of St Luke’s Combined Hospices.
In a public statement, she explained that St Luke’s prioritised expanding community-based palliative care to meet growing demand, enabling more patients to die at home. This approach supports 625 patients rather than focusing on a smaller group at the in-patient unit.
“Although finances played a role, they weren’t the primary reason for the facility’s closure,” Mahilall said.
She noted that while the non-profit was not well funded by the government, it received strong support from donors.
Mahilall explained the shift in the organisation’s business model and services will continue to include day hospice and home-based care but will no longer provide private accommodation for those in the final stages of life.
“We had to weigh the odds of caring for a small group of people as opposed to the exponentially growing needs for palliative-care services especially out in the community and at home.”
To this end, the final intake of patients to the Kenilworth in-patient unit were admitted on Wednesday, 4 December, and were discharged by Wednesday, 18 December. They were referred to alternative end-of-life care facilities, such as Living Hope in Fish Hoek and Abundant Life in the Southern Suburbs.
Clinical staff from the in-patient facility have, in the meantime, been redeployed to support the community-based care team.
“Comprising a medical doctor, social workers, nurses, spiritual care workers and bereavement counsellors, the team will not interrupt their service offering to the broader community, and 625 patients receiving home-based care will receive the same standard of care to which they are accustomed,” Mahilall said.
The non-profit’s admin, HR, and operational staff will continue working from the iconic Kenilworth building, owned by St Luke’s. Unfortunately, five staff members have been retrenched.
Mahilall noted that the space, previously reserved for the in-patient facility, may be leased to corporates, or repurposed as an independent frail-care or private hospital facility.
