St Giles Hospice to open new quiet room for families facing difficult conversations
A new quiet room will open at St Giles Hospice this month (December) to provide families and loved ones with a private, calming space for difficult conversations during end of life care.
The thoughtfully furnished room has been created thanks, in part, to the £641,379 of Government capital funding the hospice received in July 2025 as part of the Department of Health and Social Care's £75 million distribution to hospices across England for buildings, facilities and digital infrastructure improvements.
The space, previously an office and located on the Inpatient Unit, has been repurposed and completely refurbished to create a single occupancy room where staff can hold sensitive discussions with families and loved ones. The room will also allow the hospice's Family Support and Wellbeing team to provide support without families having to leave the Inpatient Unit itself.
Ali Callear, Family and Community Support Services Lead at St Giles Hospice, said: "This quiet room will provide a private, undisturbed space allowing for focused discussion without distractions. The calming feel has been specifically designed to help reduce anxiety and emotional intensity during what are often the most difficult moments families face.
"Having this dedicated space means we can offer families the privacy and comfort they need when having conversations about their loved one's care, whilst remaining close by on the Inpatient Unit."
The quiet room is the latest improvement made possible by the Government funding, following the opening of a new spa bathroom and family lounge earlier this year. The family lounge, which opened in July, combined Government funding with a grant from the Francis and Eric Ford Charity Trust to provide comfortable facilities with sofas, kitchen facilities and a dedicated children's area.
Elinor Eustace, CEO of St Giles Hospice, said: "These improvements to our Inpatient Unit are making a real difference to families during the most challenging times. The quiet room will complement our new family lounge and spa bathroom, ensuring we can provide the privacy, dignity and support that families need.
"However, while this capital funding has been very welcome and is making a real difference to our facilities, we continue to advocate alongside Hospice UK for long-term reform that the hospice sector desperately needs. With less than a quarter of our £10 million annual costs funded by the Government, we remain heavily reliant on the generosity of our local community."
The improvements form part of broader modernisation plans for the Inpatient Unit, originally commissioned as the Compassus Centre in 2010, with many aspects now outdated and equipment reaching the end of its useful life. Additional funding secured from the HS2 Community Environment Fund and CRASH Charity has enabled the hospice to increase spending on refurbishment plans for 2025/26.
The funding comes as crucial support for St Giles, which last year was forced to reduce bed capacity from 23 to 15 beds and implement 23 staff redundancies due to financial pressures facing the sector nationally.
The announcement aligns with the Government’s recognition of hospices' importance in their 10-year NHS plan and their role in shifting care from hospitals into the community.
St Giles Hospice is a registered charity offering specialist palliative and end of life care, free of charge, for people living with terminal illnesses across Staffordshire, North Birmingham and surrounding areas. More than 80% of the hospice's care is delivered in the community, with the organisation caring for 2,603 people across all services in 2024-25.
