Staff and volunteers are celebrating as St Barnabas Hospice has been awarded more than £190,000 to support patients through the current pandemic restrictions.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted on vital services St Barnabas provides to the public. In order to continue to deliver outstanding care delivery to patients and carers throughout Lincolnshire, St Barnabas Hospice applied for grant funding from The National Lottery Community Foundation COVID response fund and the Barclays COVID-19 Community Aid package.
St Barnabas Hospice was awarded both grants to reach out digitally to Lincolnshire patients, giving those patients who require it access to technology so they can continue to use their services while face-to-face support is currently not feasible. Staff facilities have also been improved so they can reach out to more patients digitally, broaden capacity and support to those most in need.
The National Lottery grant will be used to fund St Barnabas’ REAL Project (Reach out, Equality, Access for all, Lessen the loneliness). The aim of the REAL Project is to reduce loneliness and isolation in the community during what has been an incredibly difficult time thanks to the safety guidelines everyone has had to follow. St Barnabas patients are some of the most vulnerable in society and many have been shielding at home for months. Only around 14% of the grants awarded are for projects worth more than £10,000, placing St Barnabas’s REAL Project in the minority.
St Barnabas Hospice has also been chosen as a charity partner of Barclays, ensuring that the hospice can now digitally reach the most vulnerable patients in Lincolnshire most impacted by COVID-19.
Nigel Higgins, Barclays Chairman, said: “COVID-19 has created an unprecedented social and economic impact in the UK, with many experiencing greater hardship due to the crisis.
“Incredible charities such as St Barnabas Hospice have been playing a vital role in the UK’s response to the pandemic, ensuring urgent help reaches those most in need of support. As a bank, we have been doing all we can for our customers, clients and colleagues, and we hope that by partnering with St Barnabas Hospice and many other charities across the UK, collectively we can ensure that as many people as possible in the communities in which we live and work are supported through this crisis.”
Funding from both grants will be used to support the purchase of vital technology so the Hospice can reach more vulnerable, isolated people. This includes iPads, laptops, phones and software.
The grants will allow the Hospice’s Community Services teams to continue working remotely, communicating with patients virtually and reducing face-to-face contact. The Hospice’s Wellbeing teams will also be able to host virtual sessions and help families communicate with their loved ones. This also extends to physiotherapists who will be able to help patients with exercises via video calls.
Michelle Webb, Director of Patient Care at St Barnabas, said: “I am delighted that St Barnabas was successful in gaining these grants. The Clinical teams here at the Hospice have adapted at really short notice to working differently during the pandemic, ensuring hospice care is still able to reach people across Lincolnshire by making use of technology.
“The new equipment purchased with this money really will make a huge difference to those who the teams care for. It will help people who are often in remote and rural locations to keep in touch with our clinicians and receive hospice care when they need it the most.
“This grant has come at a perfect time for St Barnabas Hospice. Last year, the Hospice delivered care to an incredible 1,946 vulnerable adults in the community.
“From lockdown (23rd March) to present, St Barnabas’ Day Therapy Centres have remained closed. Despite this, the Hospice has still been able to support 560 Day Therapy patients through phone calls and home visits, as well as 1,176 patients who have chosen to spend their final days at home. Having the use of these new technologies will help increase the number of these patients who can be supported virtually.”
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