£110,000 windfall for hospice outreach service
TO RECEIVE END-OF-LIFE CARE AT HOME
HOSPICE staff were stunned after receiving an anonymous £110,000 windfall that will aid vital outreach work.
The grant will fund the Hospice Outreach and Discharge Support service (HODS) – set up last May in response to the pandemic – for the first three months of the year.
The service fast-tracks people out of hospital so they can be at home at the end of their lives, and intervenes to prevent hospital admissions.
Jo Polkey, director of care at Nottinghamshire Hospice, said: “We’re so grateful for this substantial donation which will secure the service for the next three months.
“Our care is more important than ever during the pandemic as it keeps patients out of hospital, allowing them to spend their last days at home with family around them and keeping beds free for Covid patients.
“Since the HODS service was set up, it’s been very successful and in high demand so we’re delighted to be able to continue it into 2021.
“And if there are any other trusts with end-of-year funds to dispense, please consider supporting us.”
Hospice intervention helped Nick Pezzolla, from Clifton, bring his wife
Christine out of hospital so they could spend their last Christmas together. Christine died this month at the age of 72.
Christine, who had Alzheimer’s, suffered internal bleeding in November after falling downstairs and hitting her head.
She was taken to hospital for assessment when Nick was told she was approaching the end of life and there was no treatment available.
“The hospital said they could make her comfortable, or she could move into a residential care home, but I’d already made up my mind to bring her home,” he said.
“If Christine had gone into residential care she would have been very confused and I might not have been allowed to visit.
“I’d promised her she would never go into a home, and I kept my promise.”
Since HODS was set up in May, it has provided vital palliative care to patients across Nottinghamshire in their homes and support for their families. It complements the hospice’s other services which provide care in shifts or night support visits, enabling staff to support families round-the-clock across the county.
There are currently two teams working with plans for a third.
Nottinghamshire Hospice urgently requires funds to extend the HODS service into a second year to continue supporting patients at the end of their lives and protect the NHS.
The pandemic has severely affected the charity’s ability to raise funds due to repeated closures of its 10 shops, and the cancellation of all fundraising events since the first lockdown in March last year.
Make a donation online at www. nottshospice.org/donate/