As the years have passed we have continued to adapt and improve our services, always flexing our model to the needs of our patients and families.
COVID-19 shook us all, presenting the biggest public health crisis most of us have ever experienced. Crises often demand swift action, and we moved quickly to change the way we operated and to ensure we could continue to provide the vital care and support that is essential for our patients and families. We ensured that care remained a priority and we are proud to have been able to maintain family visits on our wards throughout the height of the crisis. Services looked different, with full personal protective equipment (PPE) for all on the ward and physical distancing measures in place, however the core of our care remained.
Many of our services moved into the digital and virtual sphere with consultations and bereavement support taking place via videoconferencing technology. Those who could, moved to home working, and the absolute priority of providing a safe environment for patients, families and staff remained at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts. In late March we stood down our volunteer team of over 600, one of the toughest decisions we had to take throughout the pandemic.
Strategies are often things that live in polished documents on shelves and desks. Not so in our world. Our Strategy 2020 was just at the start of its existence when COVID-19 struck. The virus, and ensuing public health crisis, acted as a catalyst for us to make significant changes quickly and efficiently, implementing much of this fledgling strategy straight away. Almost all of the changes that we implemented, from online support sessions, to changes in ward structures, were part of our strategic plans, but were accelerated, with timelines for change swifter than any of us could have imagined. The thinking was in place and the time for change was upon us.
Our teams rose to the challenge of quick, and significant, change in an outstanding fashion. They changed working practices, adapted to new roles, worked from home where possible, supported families in new ways using new technologies and have remained steadfast in their support for our service users throughout. In the midst of significant change for our staff in their personal lives they rose to the challenge in the Hospice and provided all important security and stability for our families.
Looking ahead we have much still to achieve. We have significant changes on the wards to implement, moving to a new structure which will integrate the former day therapies services into the Cedar Ward. We have our Hospice at Home team to fully embed in the community and there are significant changes to patient access pathways with a new Access Team. Our online support for patients and families will continue to grow, and our commitment to working towards balanced finances over the next three years is a core commitment, which will see us looking closely at new fundraising initiatives and carefully examining where efficiencies can be made.
Volunteers have always been at the heart of the Hospice, right from the very beginning. I am delighted that we have started to welcome some of our amazing volunteers back in to support our services, and we look forward to more joining them over the coming months. They bring so much to our environment, and the Hospice has been a very different place without them.
Our new strategy is about responding to the needs of our community, innovating to create more community support and looking at how we can reach as many people as possible across our area who need our support. Without our community we really could not be here for those who need us, and once again thank you to each and every one of you who support us, in whatever way that may be.
With best wishes
Jackie Stone
Chief Executive
St Columba’s Hospice Care