We caught up with Terri Gazzi Lead Nurse for her latest update on the COVID-19 situation
Terri Gazi, Lead Nurse provides the latest City Hospice update on COVID-19 and how the outbreak is affecting life at the Hospice
It has been another really busy week here at City Hospice. Like everyone else we continue to have waves of anxiety and worry about the uncertainty ahead of us. I am not sure when things will get back to what may be called normal. However, we continue to go out visiting patients in their own homes which I know is really appreciated.
We’ve lots of advice and support on the new section of our website
Our Counselling Service remains in high demand at this difficult time. There is additional information on our website highlighting organisations that are offering telephone support and a friendly chat. This is especially useful if like many you feel isolated and alone. The days can be long, leaving plenty of time to make your worries build up, frightening media coverage and escalating anxiety. So please have a p
eep at the section compiled by our Social Worker, Andrew. You can access the information here . In addition you can access our entire Coronavirus: News and Advice pages using the link at the bottom of this page. You’ll see there is plenty of useful information here as part of the City Hospice latest update on COVID-19.
There is so much support for you and for us
As a team we feel so lucky to see and feel so much support coming our way. I know the clinical team really appreciates seeing and hearing your comments. Our Admin team continues to do a fantastic job every day; we do appreciate and thank them. So here’s just a picture of two of these lovely ladies who organise and support what is often a very busy clinical team. They remain in the background but I feel it is important to recognise their contribution to the team. We just would not function without them.
We’re all having to adapt to using more IT though face to face visits remain important
Functioning is quite a key word for us and our whole way of doing some things have changed. Last week for example we had our first zoom Clinical Governance meeting.
Usually these meetings take place in the board room at City Hospice and consist of trustees and senior clinical team members. It worked really well and our thanks has to go to Sue who works in clinical admin, who also became our IT guru on the day! For those of us that were not IT inclined at the beginning of this crisis we will certainly be IT experts by the end.
I am also amazed at how many of our patients are so confident in using all the different communication apps. Some have had teaching from younger family members others have become techno experts overnight. We do thank you all for adapting to the changes we have made in keeping in touch with you all. However, throughout this crisis it is important when necessary to maintain face to face visits which we absolutely intend to continue doing.
Our bereavement service is here for you
Last week I spoke to some relatives who had sadly been bereaved during this crisis. It’s heartbreaking listening to stories surrounding funerals, where family members as either not able to attend or there is limited attendance. Whilst I understand the current guidelines regarding social isolation, it does not ease the pain of a relative being unable to carry out their loved ones funeral wishes.
Some of you feel attending a bereavement group at City Hospice will help support you through this. Unfortunately, we cannot do this at this current time due to social distancing and we all feel helpless at not being able to offer this service. As soon as restrictions are lifted we promise to resume this service as a priority. I’ll continue to provide information on this is the latest City Hospice update on Covid-19.
I appreciate that many bereaved people are not just experiencing loss but also social isolation. Our Bereavement Service is still here for you; please contact us if you need a
ny extra support.
From the weekend of 2 & 3 May there will be two nurses on call for our out of hours service. One Senior Nurse will be with the GP service taking your calls whilst the second Nurse will be out visiting. Therefore when you call between 9-5pm on a weekend or Bank Holiday it will go through to the out of hours GP service, but the number you call is the same as on your yellow card 0845 0743003. The lines do get busy and I apologise in advance if you do experience any delays.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone raising money to support us
Finally the biggest heartfelt thank you to staff, supporters and to all of those people who are raising money for City Hospice. It is at a time like this you realise how fabulous people are, and it is you out there that deserve the biggest round of applause from us. Lastly oh my goodness, a BIG thank you to little, 3 year old Ffion for raising money for us. We’re so grateful to you all.
