The Coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented time for everyone and its effects have been felt across the world.  Closer to home within our local community we have continued to provide support to our patients and those who matter most to them, albeit we have had to adapt some of our working practices to manage the risk of spreading the virus.

In addition to providing support for our patients and those who matter most to them, we have always worked closely with our colleagues in the residential and nursing care home setting to enable them to provide the best possible care for their residents who are living with a life limiting illness.

We have recognised that Covid_19 has had a significant effect on our colleagues working within these settings as they have experienced high numbers of deaths within in a short period of time. This can have a significant impact on a person’s well-being.

Therefore Hospice of the Valleys is now providing a ‘Coping through Covid_19’ service for Health & Social Care professionals, particularly for staff working in residential & nursing care homes, who are currently experiencing work-based distress.

Individuals who feel they would benefit from this service can self-refer via our Family Support Team.  This can be done by phone or e mail.

Telephone: 01495 717277                    Email: enquiries@hospiceofthevalleys.com

Here is some feedback from a local Care Home manager who has engaged with the ‘Coping through Covid_19’ service and has experienced the positive benefits.

“Jonathan has been fantastic at helping me find that work life, home life balance in this particularly challenging time. As a care home manager during this Covid_19 crisis it has been particularly difficult as stress, anxiety and fear levels are at their highest.

My sessions with Jonathan have helped me overcome the fear that had been present since the crisis began, that had been having a huge impact on my day to day life, meaning that work had completely taken over my life.

The support helped me evaluate my current practices and allowed me to step back and take a breath.  With Jonathan’s help I was then able to evaluate areas that I needed to improve on which then had the positive effect of empowering my staff and focusing on team work”.