The hospice had to temporarily close at the end of March due to COVID-19, but its counselling and nursing support continued over the telephone, providing crucial help for patients with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses.
We have been providing telephone support to help patients with the problems that they are facing when self-isolating including helping to obtain crucial medication, accessing healthcare services and grocery shopping by liaising with GPs, district nurses, palliative care teams, pharmacies and neighbourhood support schemes.
We have found that many of the people that we care for are experiencing anxiety and distress as a result of COVID-19, some have lost loved ones and others are severely ill patients who are worried about going in to hospital for treatment and being at risk of catching the virus.
The coronavirus pandemic meant that we had to close our retail shops and cancel fundraising events and this has greatly impacted our fundraising income this year. We are therefore very grateful for the donations that we receive from all of our supporters, including the funding that we receive from players of The Hospice Lottery who have helped to provide us with a vital source of income.
