Update from Rennie Grove
We have received the following news from Rennie Grove Hospice Care about how they are managing their services during the current coronavirus outbreak.
Our absolute priority is to make sure that our hospice at home service continues to offer care day and night to give our patients the choice to be at home with their families. At a time when some of us might be feeling a little challenged by the prospect of spending all our time at home, it’s important to remember that this is where most of our patients desperately want to be. And by making this possible, we also keep the pressure off the NHS by keeping people out of hospital wherever we can.
We are having to change the way we deliver some of our services though to keep patients, staff and volunteers safe, which is vitally important. Our day services which were being delivered at temporary locations in and around St Albans while Grove House is being refurbished, have sadly had to close to protect our vulnerable patients as well as our staff and volunteers. We are now keeping closely in touch with these patients and offering them further support at home if needed. Our Family Support services are still running with many sessions taking place by phone.
Although our services are provided free to the families we support, funding them is a challenge at the best of times. We receive just 11% of the costs of our service from the NHS and rely on the generosity of our local community to fund the remaining 89%. Our current situation means we are facing a serious funding crisis. With our community activity halted, fundraising events cancelled and our shops seeing custom almost cease, many of our income streams have stopped almost overnight.
We need your help, now more than ever, so that we can continue to provide our service, day and night, 365 days of the year, supporting patients and their families in their homes at the end of life. Whatever you can give will make a difference. Our target of £100,000 will fund one of our nursing teams for three months. Thank you, we can’t do this without you.