Thousands of people are treated by the hospice’s at-home scheme, which could become harder to access as a result of the cuts.

“By having to reduce our services we are ultimately going to have to reduce the [number of] people that we look after,” said Kristy Clayton, director of clinical services.

She previously told the BBC she could easily fill the unit’s 23 beds twice over and having to decide who to prioritise was “incredibly heartbreaking”.

Nurses are among roles being cut at the hospice, which has shocked staff.

“As a nurse you think that’s always going to be a job that’s going to be a certainty,” said Kristie Dann, clinical nurse specialist.

“So that was really, really hard.”

St Giles has an annual budget of £10m, with more than three-quarters of its staff in clinical positions.

Five years ago, NHS funding covered about 25% of costs – but this has fallen to 17.7%.