St Catherine’s has been providing much needed care and support
Giles Tomsett is Chief Executive at St Catherine’s Hospice. Here he shares an update on the local charity’s vital work.
I hope that you and your loved ones have been keeping safe and well through this very difficult time. This pandemic isn’t something any of us ever expected to face, and if you or anyone you know has been touched by this crisis, may I express my deepest sympathy – my heart goes out to you.
For my part, I’m tremendously grateful that I’m surrounded by the most incredible team at St Catherine’s. Every single one of them has been amazing. They’ve continued to deliver the outstanding care and support, whilst dealing with their own concerns about their families, and worrying if they’ll take coronavirus home to them.
Throughout this pandemic, St Catherine’s has been providing much-needed care and support to as many people in your community as ever.
In fact, many people have needed us more than before because they’ve been struggling with additional challenges as a result of the virus, on top of having to cope with illness, death and loss.
Our support of our NHS and social care colleagues is also more crucial than it’s ever been in making sure more local people coming towards the end of their lives, receive the best care and support possible.
But, at this time, when we’re needed more than ever, the coronavirus crisis has had a severe impact on our funding. Funding that our hospice relies on to help us care for thousands of people every year.
All our shops were closed for three months and all our fundraising events have been cancelled to keep people safe. Although we’ve received some funding from the Government, and taken every opportunity to minimise our costs, we still expect the amount we’re able to raise this year won’t cover our running costs.
We face a monumental challenge to raise enough to continue to be there for everyone in our community who needs us.
As hard as it is to admit this, I feel I must tell you that – even with the best efforts of our committed team at St Catherine’s – we will struggle to raise all of the money we need to support our community over the coming months without your help.
If you support us today, your donation could help our caring team to take calls from local people in need of support – something that makes a huge difference when people feel isolated at home. Or it could cover the costs of the petrol needed by our community nurses to visit people in their homes.
Thank you so much for supporting St Catherine’s – You are as crucial as my colleagues providing care on the frontline, because without you, we can’t provide our expert care and support to local people in their time of need.
Giles Tomsett
Chief Executive, St Catherine’s Hospice
P.S. Remember a gift of £50 could cover the cost of a tank of petrol for a nurse, so they can make sure no one in your community is left struggling without the support they need.
Find out more: Continuing to Care – help us keep supporting local people who really need us.
