22 November 2021

Our partnership with NHS Charities Together

We’re enormously grateful to NHS Charities Together (NHSCT) for their ongoing support of hospital charities.

As one of the largest NHS charities, Southampton Hospitals Charity are leading on the grant applications for six NHS Charities in our region, focusing on prevention, intervention and recovery from the effects of COVID-19 for the most vulnerable patients.

Here are some of our current projects:

Supporting patients with COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties. Many of our COPD patients had to shield in 2020-21.

The knock-on effect has been a widespread fall in physical fitness and often weight gain, combined with loss of confidence and motivation resulting from low mood and depression. Without support, the medium- and long- term effects will be devastating for our patients.

During the pandemic, our staff supported patient’s rehabilitation and care remotely using a combination of telephone contact, virtual clinics and video classes. However, some patients were not able to engage in these classes due to a lack of access/ability to use IT equipment.

Working with Age UK Southampton, this grant will overcome this.

End of life bereavement volunteering support programme

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted already stretched end-of-life care and bereavement support services across the country.

The impact of visiting restrictions, isolation, and shielding on dying patients and bereaved families will be felt for many years. The pandemic severed the essential connections between patients, families, and the place of dying.

Donating in Memory at Southampton Hospitals Charity

This project will see volunteers providing specialist bereavement and end-of-life care to patients, and their loved ones. It will provide care in a hospital setting, or in a patient’s home, and will bring together local palliative care and bereavement organisations to create a coordinated bereavement pathway.

Medicine for Older People activity coordinator

Everyone deserves the best care as they age. This project will fund a physical activity coordinator in our Medicine for Older People department, one thought to be unique and novel within the NHS.

This role will focus on creating activities, connecting patients with local community organisations and with nutritionists. COVID-19 has seen an increasing number of elderly patients becoming deconditioned and therefore at risk of further hospital admissions. This project will look to combat this trend.

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