Comment: Sentiment for Bristol hospice loses out to hard facts

There will be many people shocked and saddened at the news that St Peter's is to close its Knowle hospice.

Particularly those who work there or who are volunteers. And those whose loved ones have passed away there.

For them it is a place of particular significance.

All of those people, their feelings and their views are important.

But more important is the work of the hospice itself.

For St Peter's is about caring for those who are ill and helping their families cope.

That work is vital and it is delivered completely free to anyone who asks.

St Peter's is such a part of the life of this city it is impossible to imagine Bristol without it.

But the hospice is more than bricks and mortar.

It is about nursing, care, compassion and support.

It is about helping people who are in genuine and immediate need.

And that will continue not only at Brentry but also in homes across the city every single day of the year and every hour of the day.

For the charity's trustees to jeopardise that by ploughing money into sustaining a building purely out of sentiment would be unthinkable.

That is why, as hard as the decision to close the Knowle hospice must have been, it is undoubtedly the right one.

St Peter's, like so many organisations and businesses, has seen its income fall dramatically over the past year or so. Just like everyone else it has seen the return from its investments and savings shrink. And like everyone else it has to concentrate on its priorities.

That means the people for whom it cares. They are the ones for whom St Peter's was established and their needs have to be put first.