In February 2020, we were the first hospice in the UK to be awarded Makaton-friendly status. This enabled our staff and volunteers to better communicate with our patients and families.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we quickly moved all our services online to continue to support patients and counselling clients at home.
Our support included Cake and Care packages hand-delivered to patients and vulnerable volunteers. We also delivered care packages to grieving children and young people.
We took the difficult decision to suspend plans for the In-Patient Unit after recognising an increasing demand for palliative care for patients in their own homes and a need to concentrate fundraising efforts on existing care services.
In May, we launched our Roaming Nurse Service to help alleviate pressures on the NHS. The service also supported our Hospice at Home nurses who continued to provide palliative care throughout the pandemic.
From May 2020, we started to deliver vital syringe-driver training for nursing homes and donating surplus PPE.
As pandemic restrictions were lifted during 2021, we were able to start to open up some on-site services once again.
Thanks to the generosity of our business supporters, we were able to finally launch a fresh, new brand and logo.
In early 2022, we launched our Derby drop-in cafe in Derby city centre. This enabled more people to find out about our care and support.
In March, we started offering primary schools training on how to support bereaved pupils. This helps staff better understand how children comprehend death and how to support children when a loved one dies.