Sue Ryder has announced fears over staff and end of life patients becoming victims to Covid-19 as the charity is just days away from running out of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).
The hospices have freed up beds to support the NHS with the Coronavirus effort, and have begun admitting patients with the virus – in addition to the people they already care for.
The charity, which has over 1,000 doctors and nurses caring for people at the end of life, is pleading for urgent provision of additional and continuous supply of PPE for their medical and nursing staff.
Heidi Travis, Chief Executive at Sue Ryder, said: “For Sue Ryder’s doctors and nurses, access to significant amounts of additional Personal Protective Equipment is now critical.
“As a result of Covid-19 we are expecting an increase in people needing end of life care in the coming weeks and months.
“The NHS is asking Sue Ryder to plan to support more patients and yet our medical teams are already providing palliative care for patients with Coronavirus symptoms with only enough Personal Protective Equipment for a matter of days.
“This means that Sue Ryder will soon be unable to protect our doctors and nurses from contracting the virus. We will not put our staff at risk and so this will lead to staff shortages at a time when they are needed more than ever before.
“If we are to protect our staff against the spread of Covid-19 and continue to care for patients who are dying, in turn supporting the NHS, an immediate solution is needed.
“With a depleted workforce, there will not be enough staff to run the charity’s hospices and Hospice at Home services across England. This will lead to patients being transferred to hospitals which will put additional strain on the NHS.
“We are willing participants in the Coronavirus effort. We want to use our skills, expertise and experience to help in the months ahead, but this will simply not be possible if we cannot access the equipment needed to protect our staff.”
Carrie-Anne Taitt, 30, was diagnosed with incurable cervical cancer in January 2019; more than a year after doctors gave her the all-clear.
She is currently receiving palliative care at home from Sue Ryder nurses, which enables her to be with her husband and two young children. Speaking of her fears, she said: “I have chosen to die in a hospice, but in the meantime, I rely on Sue Ryder Nurses to support me at home so I can be with my family. If they were unable to continue caring for me, or my local Sue Ryder hospice was to close, there would be no other option but to receive my care in hospital. The hospitals are going to be full so where does that leave me?”
Hospice UK has today issued a statement on the shortage of personal protective equipment hospices are facing. It says:
“Hospices across the UK are running dangerously low of personal protective equipment, leaving staff at risk of contracting the Coronavirus.
“As well as caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, hospices are playing a vital role in supporting the NHS’s response to the pandemic. It is therefore essential that hospice staff, like those working in any health or care setting, have the equipment they need to protect themselves and their patients against infection.
“Hospice UK is deeply concerned about the continuing difficulties that hospices are facing in accessing appropriate equipment, and we are working with the NHS to try to resolve these supply issues as a matter of urgency.”
For more information visit Sue Ryder
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