At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, The Myton Hospices turned over its inpatient unit in Warwick to the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, to support the NHS during the outbreak. It is now set to re-open the unit by the end of September.
This was not the only change the hospice made to its services. Like most other organisations, the hospice had to quickly adapt to new ways of working to protect staff, patients and families. One of the biggest changes was moving many of the services they delivered face-to-face online.
The Counselling, Fatigue & Breathlessness, Living Well, Lymphoedema and Wellbeing Services have been taking place virtually, ensuring people and their families could still have access to the support they need. The charity intends to build on this, so that in the long term a range of services will be offered remotely and in the community, removing the need for groups of vulnerable people to be together in one place.
Myton has also conducted a survey of patients, carers, healthcare professionals and the public across Coventry and Warwickshire to find out what is important to them in relation to palliative and end of life care provision. The findings show that many people would prefer to access care and support in their own home where possible, but there will always be a need for inpatient care.
The research showed that more people are choosing home as their preferred place of death, and the charity will continue to provide its Myton at Home service in Rugby, Leamington Spa and Warwick.
“Our primary focus will always be to provide care and support for those who need our services, we want to ensure that we are doing this in the best way possible for them and for the future sustainability of Myton” CEO Ruth Freeman said. “As well as developing our own plans we are working in partnership with other providers across Coventry and Warwickshire to ensure we are part of a joined up solution for the local community.
“The Coronavirus pandemic has shown us that we can be agile and that there are real benefits to some of the new ways of working. With patient feedback supporting this we are keen to continue to grow our offer virtually and in the community, as well as in our inpatient units.”
For more information visit The Myton Hospices
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