Charity’s front line staff continue to care for families in crisis
Thames Hospice has launched an urgent fundraising appeal to help fund the significant increase in demand of its community and inpatient services during the coronavirus pandemic. However, with its shops closed and many fundraising activities on hold for the foreseeable future, the Hospice is set to lose over £1million of income over the next few months.
Right now, the Hospice is currently supporting local NHS Trusts by caring for vulnerable Covid-19 patients on its Inpatient Unit in Windsor. These people were in hospital but are now in need of the end-of-life care that only a Hospice can provide. The doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to make patients as comfortable as possible and that families can be with their loved one when they are seriously ill until the very last moment.
Today Thames Hospice is asking its community to support the appeal and help raise the additional funds for the extra equipment that it desperately needs to safely care for patients in the face of this crisis.
Lisa Church, Director of Nursing and Family Services at Thames Hospice, says: “We are facing a double whammy at the Hospice right now. Our income has been hugely impacted by the crisis, with the postponement of key fundraising events such as LakeFest, loss of income from community fundraising and the closure of our shops. However, the increased demand for our community and inpatient services has meant that we have had to significantly increase capacity to support some of the most vulnerable patients with Covid-19 on our Inpatient Unit.
“We don't have any extra funding to do this right now, but it is the right thing to do for our community and to support our local NHS Trusts.”
Thames Hospice is asking its community to stand by them and help contribute towards some of the items it urgently needs to fight back against the threat of coronavirus:
- £20 could pay for personal protective equipment for a nurse or doctor
- £50 could pay for a day’s cleaning supplies
- £100 could pay for 12 hours of pain relief for a patient with Covid-19
To donate, please visit https://www.thameshospice.org.uk/emergency-covid-19-appeal
Lisa continued: “Given the complex medical needs of our patients, Thames Hospice is the best place to treat them. We don’t have funding in place for this but it’s what we need to do, and we must step up. By donating today you will help Thames Hospice give life-changing care to the most vulnerable people in our community.”
************************
About Thames Hospice
Thames Hospice is the local charity for people living in East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire. We provide expert care to adults who have a life-limiting illness - and their families and carers.
We care for the physical, social and psychological needs of our patients, not just the condition. Our highly skilled medical team work with the patient and their families to develop a complete programme of care tailored to their individual needs.
Our services include nursing and medical care in our Hospice at Windsor, Community Therapy Unit in Ascot and in patients' homes, as well as practical and emotional support.
It costs more than £7million every year to keep our Hospice running. We rely on 80% of our income from charitable donations, which enables us to provide our services free of charge, 365 days a year, to the people who need us.
Find out how you can support us, volunteer or access our services at www.thameshospice.org.uk
To keep up to date with all the latest new hospice news and developments, please read our weekly blogs at www.thameshospice.org.uk/new-build-blog/