Saint Michael’s Hospice comment on funding package for UK charities.
Saint Michael’s Hospice Chief Executive Tony Collins said:
Our priority is to be a meaningful part of the healthcare response to this crisis, and therefore, our primary focus remains on supporting our community and NHS colleagues in as many ways as we can.
We welcome this investment in the hospice movement. It is exactly what we need to be able to continue to care for people affected by terminal illness and bereavement and support our community with their emotional wellbeing.
This includes keeping as many of our traditional services running as possible so we can help release pressure from the NHS.
At the same time we are also working with our NHS partners and other organisations to develop new services in response to the new and unmet need in our community due to COVID-19. Examples of this are our new Just ‘B’ Hear to Help line for those feeling anxious or struggling with their emotional wellbeing, and our work to support the national NHS mental health hotline for staff, which launched yesterday.
We do this in the context of a significant drop in some income streams with the closure of our shops and the postponement of many other fundraising events and activities, which makes this support from the government all the more welcome and very gratefully received.
