Dorothy House: You stepped up to the challenge – We will get through this

THE last three weeks have been remarkable. We launched our Step Up appeal and the response of our community has been bold and heartening.

We stepped up our services, you stepped up your generosity
Our clinical teams stepped up to offer remote care to our vulnerable patients who are self-isolating and we opened our new eight-bed Inpatient Unit to take some pressure off our local hospitals.

The community stepped up their generosity and donated PPE, Easter eggs, health and beauty products, food packages and hand sanitiser – meaningful and considerate gifts for our patients and our staff.

We stepped up our support, you stepped up your time
Last week, and for the first time, one of our Nurse Specialists hosted a livestream event to help families and carers who are supporting those with COVID-19 symptoms, at home. If you or someone you know may benefit from this, visit our website to see this video and others that may be helpful.
And while we’ve had to cancel most of our fundraising events, many of our community signed up to our first virtual 5k while others have created their own challenge! Like Kevin Dobson (Devizes) and Owen Hillier (Nunney, near Frome) – two of our incredible hospice heroes who have stepped up in a huge way to give their time to raising funds. Here are their stories:

Kevin Dobson – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4QKU7uQrMg

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kevin-dobson2

Owen Hillier – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv_IKW4fr10&feature=youtu.be

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/susan-edwards27

We stepped up our help, you stepped up your giving 
The pressure on our GP surgeries, care/residential homes and carers across our patch is extraordinary. Now, more than ever, it’s important that we help them with our specialist knowledge and support. So, weekly we’re hosting live sessions for professionals to seek advice and sending service updates so we can react quickly to our community’s needs. We’ve also increased capacity on our 24hr Advice Line so we can support the record number of calls from professionals, families, carers and patients.

All the while, the community’s support – that covers the cost of 70% of our care – has been exceptional.
Wayne de Leeuw, Chief Executive, said, “We are humbled by our community’s response to ‘step up’ for Dorothy House. This is an unprecedented time but we have the most creative and passionate supporters. They are making it possible for us to meet the needs of our community as we face this pandemic head on.”

Every day and every night, we provide palliative and end of life care to our community. This critical work is even more vital now and we would not be here without them.