Local communities have been rallying round their hospices since the Coronavirus pandemic took hold, as charity’s have seen income streams through fundraising drop dramatically while services have had to increase.
Hair and beauty students at Darlington College have donated a range of personal protective equipment (PPE) to St Teresa’s Hospice. The hospice has also received a batch of anti-viral cleaning products from local specialists.
Face masks, sanitisers and aprons were delivered to the hospice by the college, after beauty tutor Rachel Hanson and her colleagues came up with the idea and coordinated the donations with the local hospital and council ward volunteers.
Darlington College principal Kate Roe said: “This health crisis has proved to me just how close knit a community we are in Darlington, and when someone needs help the college is there to help.
“Our students are doing an incredible job at the moment with their distance learning but the equipment they would be using in college, such as PPE, is just lying idle. So it makes absolute sense that the hospice should be given the opportunity to use it and staff and students are delighted to help.”
The hospice has also received bottles of alcohol hand gel and spray bottles of antiviral disinfectant, courtesy of Ruck Engineering and Cleaning Technology.
The company’s managing director Simon Ruck said: “We specialise in chemicals, many of which are effective against coronavirus. So providing them for the hospice makes perfect sense as a way for us to help.”
“We are long-time supporters of St Teresa’s and fully appreciate the difficulties they are facing at the moment. Over the years we have attended many of the fundraising events that are the lifeblood of the organisation and have had to be cancelled or postponed this year because of Covid-19. They really do need the support of the community to continue their fantastic work.”
In Cumbria, a distillery has swapped gin-production for hand sanitiser in response to demand, since the Coronavirus outbreak began. Shed 1 Distillery Limited recently made their first batch, and gave it to St Mary’s Hospice for free.
Distillery owners Andy and Zoe said: “We are a micro gin distillery in Ulverston, Cumbria. In the light of recent events we’ve managed to source materials and have been given permission by HMRC to start producing hand sanitiser. It’s not like the gel you may make at home, we follow the World Health Organisation’s formulation which uses 80% abv ethanol.
“Our first priority is our local hospice, St Mary’s. We have also been asked if we can produce enough for other vulnerable groups in the area and we are going to do our best. As these groups are struggling financially, we are gifting them this vital resource.”
In the Scottish town of Renfrewshire local companies including a butcher’s, a coffee shop, supermarkets and a greengrocers’ have rallied round St Vincent’s Hospice, making sure the hospice has all the supplies and resources it needs to carry on caring for patients and families across the community during the pandemic.
Hospice Volunteer Manager Elaine Grealey said: “During the past few weeks, like most of the population, we had some difficulties getting supplies for the hospice. Fortunately, we very quickly discovered just how kind and generous a number of local businesses are as they very kindly helped us source supplies, supported our services and made donations to our hospice.
“We would like to say a very sincere thank you to Roots of Linwood, GH Davidson Butchers, Harry’s Fruit and Veg, Co-op Bridge of Weir, NG Quality Meats, Reid’s Food Services and Starbucks Johnstone. We would also like to thank Kilbarchan Dental Practice for their donation of several boxes of Personal Protective Equipment and Bonnymans for their hand sanitiser to help keep everyone safe.
“The entire country is going through an extremely uncertain and difficult time, and these gestures of support mean so much to all of our patients, their families and our team at the hospice. Thank you!”
Other generous initiatives have included:
- Chemistry equipment manufacturers Radleys donated goggles to St Clare Hospice in Essex to help their nurses remain protected.
- The Cavell Nurses’ Trust has set aside additional funding for grants designed to help nursing and midwifery professionals who are struggling for money as a result of Covid-19. Nursing staff can find out more and check their eligibility for funding on the Cavell Nurses’ Trust website.
- Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care in Surrey has received £7,749 in donations from the Morrisons Foundation.
- St Barnabas Hospice in Worthing has been piloting a new scheme called Helping Hands, which provides practical support to patients who need help with things like shopping, collecting prescriptions, and having a chat over the phone to tackle loneliness. Employees of the hospice have been giving their time for to help those who need it. Claude, who works in the fundraising team, said: “In my last shop, I couldn’t get loo roll, so I popped some in the bag from home as I didn’t want anyone to be without.”
- Popular biscuit manufacturers McVitie’s delivered several boxes to St Ann’s Hospice in Greater Manchester.
- Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service donated old iPads to Blackpool Victoria Hospital after a member of the fire brigade explained that his wife, an ICU nurse, was having to tell patients’ that their relatives couldn’t visit because of the risk of infection. A total of 50 iPads will be distributed across ICUs in the region to help families keep in touch with their loved ones.
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