Caring for local people isn’t just a job, it’s ingrained
We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to continue to provide our vital care and support when it’s needed most. Giles Tomsett, our Chief Executive, wanted to share an update with you all.
“We’re now more than a year into the pandemic, and I am so proud of how my colleagues at your charitable hospice, St Catherine’s, have responded to the challenges and changes the last year has brought.
Caring for local people – your family, friends and neighbours, isn’t just a job for us, it’s ingrained
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve remained committed to helping people in your community who are facing the very worst of times while supporting the wider NHS.
I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported us. Your amazing support has kept us going through some of the toughest days in our nearly 40 year history, but sadly, the impact of COVID-19 continues across our charity
You’ll already be aware that our fundraising income has been significantly affected by this pandemic, and that last year we had to make some tough changes to reduce costs
Even with those changes and savings, we are now only operating 12 beds at our hospice in Malthouse Road. Although we have room for up to 18 beds, running 12 beds allows us to offer people the safest possible care, and to continue our robust infection control measures as our 12 beds are in single rooms, not multi bedded bays. It also helps us to save money at a time when our income has been severely affected. Once our operating finances are more buoyant, we can scale back up as we move into our new hospice home at Pease Pottage. Our plan at Pease Pottage is for all patients to be in single rooms.
Although we’re currently offering less hospice beds, we’re still offering our expert care and support to everyone who needs us
Most people we care for want to die at home, in the comfort and familiarity of their own surroundings, so we will also be refocusing our community facing teams to provide as much hospice support at home as we can, and to align ourselves to better support the work that our local healthcare systems and local care homes are doing to care for people with frailty.
The people we help are everything to us, and their needs are at the heart of every decision we make
I want to reassure you that as we work through these changes, we will continue to deliver the best possible end of life care and support to our community. We’ve done this throughout the pandemic because local people deserve nothing less
Although we’re currently having to scale down our work, our ambition to help more people facing death and bereavement hasn’t changed. Nor has our intention to build a new hospice at Pease Pottage which will provide vital end of life care for generations to come from world class facilities.
As we face the hurdles ahead, we need your support more than ever. We need you to keep the fires burning, and to help us keep bringing money in
Together, we can create a future where no one in our community faces death and loss frightened or alone. And we can emerge stronger from this pandemic, ready to deliver more care from a new, bigger hospice at Pease Pottage. Thank you for standing beside us.”
To make a donation so we can be there to offer care and comfort to even more people in your community in the future please click here or call 01293 447361.
