Coronavirus

Here at St Barnabas Hospice we are paying close attention to advice on Covid-19 from the Government and Public Health and will take measures to protect the best interests of everyone in our care. Our patients and their families remain at the heart of what we do, and we will ensure that our Hospice care will continue in the safest way, which means changes to our current visiting guidelines, staff, volunteering and fundraising events.

 

Our Patients, Families and Carers

Be assured that we are still here, caring in the community. Our clinical team are as dedicated as ever to provide palliative care throughout this unsettling time and we do not want you to hesitate in contacting us for support. Our Inpatient Unit and Hospice at Home teams are all working to care for people around the county and will continue to do so, whether this be home visits, telephone support or Inpatient care in Lincoln. The Hospice in the Hospital in Grantham has paused its visiting, in line with other Hospital visiting hours.

 

Visiting Guidelines for the Lincoln Inpatient Unit

Due to recent Government guideline changes we have been able to amend visiting restrictions within the Lincoln Inpatient Unit. Please be assured our patients, staff and visitors safety is paramount, and we must keep the infection risk as low as possible. As such, the new arrangements will be reviewed daily.

• By prior arrangement with the clinical team, all patients can have a visitor (or two if from the same household)
• Visiting is restricted to a one-and-a-half-hour time frame and will be one of the following times: 11.00 – 12.30, 15.30 – 17.00 or 18.00 – 19.30.
• We can only have a maximum of 8 visitors in the unit to allow for robust social distancing within the ward. Visitors will still have to wear mask, apron and gloves but nursing staff will talk this through prior to any visit.
• These updated visiting arrangements should further support the individualised care provided for our patients and families. We will continue to give updates by phone and offer the use of Facetime or Skype.
• If the patient is particularly unwell, or nearing the end of their life, clinical staff will advise about visiting outside of the usual designated times.
If any visitor has symptoms of Coronavirus (high temperature, new continuous cough or loss of sense of taste or smell) they MUST NOT come to the unit. They should contact 111 for advice and to arrange a test. If there are any exceptional circumstances, please discuss with the clinical staff who can advise you appropriately. Please note, our Grantham Hospice in the Hospital visiting restrictions remain unchanged.

Our Virtual Support

The Hospice have adapted the care we offer to make sure our patients, their families and carers are still supported throughout these difficult times.

Palliative Care Co-ordination Centre 
Our PCCC referral lines remain open, so do not hesitate to contact us on 0300 020 0694

St Barnabas Bereavement Helpline
Our Wellbeing Team have launched a brand – new helpline to offer advice and comfort to those grieving in isolation. Call 0300 303 1897. Please note this is not for Health Care Professionals to refer to.

Counselling and Emotional Support Services
We are still supporting people with both pre bereavement and post bereavement counselling and emotional support. You can self refer and health professionals (with a persons consent) can make referrals by calling our temporary referral number 01522 518246.

Welfare Helpline
Alongside standard advice and guidance, the Welfare team will be able to update you with Government changes to claim waiting times and changes specifically for patients, and carers who have been Furloughed because of the Coronavirus outbreak. Please note; this helpline is operating on reduced hours which are Monday to Thursday 9.00am to 14.00pm and 09.00 am to 12.00 midday Fridays. Call 01476 513 544

Healthcare Professionals can download referral forms directly from our website. 

Admiral Nursing
Our Dementia Care nurses are working remotely, offering video and phone call support. Admiral Nurses work together with families to provide the one to one support, expert guidance and practical solutions they need to live more positively with dementia each and every day.

 

Our Supporters and Fundraisers

Following guidance from Public Health England but also taking additional measures to protect the health and wellbeing of patients and families. It is with great sadness we have had to make the decision to cancel or postpone all fundraising events for the Hospice until further notice. If you have your own fundraising activity or have signed up to an events please contact our Fundraising Team via email fundraising@stbarnabashospice.co.uk and we will be pleased to offer support as best we can. However, we are delighted to launch a selection of ‘Virtual’ Fundraising ideas including ‘Virtual Gin and Jammies’.

We are pleased to announce our Display at Doddington Hall for our Dragonfly Appeal has been rescheduled for September. This will give you a chance to see the display, outdoors and following social distancing measures. For more information visit the events page here.

Shops

We plan to have the majority of our charity shops open by the end of July. Click here to view the updated list of re-opened charity shops.

The main place to donate your items is currently our Central Warehouse at 12 Cardinal Close, Lincoln, LN2 4SY. This is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm and there is no need to book an appointment.

All our charity shops except Wragby Road are accepting donated items, but there is limited room in the shops so please stagger your donations. Our Wragby Road shop is round the corner from our Central Warehouse, so it would be very helpful to take donations there instead if you are in the area.

Lottery

Our Lottery team will continue to run the draw each week, as normal. If you would like to find out more about the St Barnabas Lottery click here. 

 

Crisis Care Appeal

Anything you can donate today will help secure our end of life care in the future.

We have seen a huge drop in the fundraising income, that pays for most of our work.

Our shops are temporarily closed for business and fundraising activities and events have been cancelled for the foreseeable future – and we rely on the money these would have raised to pay for our essential care services.

We estimate a loss of £1,000,000 due to the catastrophic effects of the Coronavirus. We are asking you to support our goals and outstandingly rated care services by giving what you can.

 

Donate – www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/crisis