St Luke's Hospice in Sheffield extends vital phone helpline through pandemic thanks to Barclays funding

The Barclays 100x100 UK Covid-19 Community Relief Programme has given £100,000 to St Luke’s Hospice to aid patients and families in Sheffield by extending a vital telephone helpline throughout the pandemic.

In April, Barclays announced a £100m community aid package to support charities that are helping people and communities most impacted by Covid-19.

Alongside a colleague-matched fundraising initiative and the £10m pledged through their 100x100 programme, Barclays is donating funds to charity partners across the UK, Americas, Asia and Europe to ensure help reaches those who need it most.

For St Luke’s, that means being able to extend the hours of operation for the patient helpline that has become a vital means of practical support for patients and families throughout Sheffield during the many stages of lockdown.

With more people wishing to be cared for at home during the pandemic and around 90 per cent of St Luke’s own patients being cared for in their own homes, the extension of this helpline is truly invaluable to lots of patients, families and healthcare professionals across the city.

Last month, the St Luke’s Community team cared for 440 patients, supporting them with relief from symptoms and working with patients’ GPs and other health professionals to develop care programmes to meet their individual needs.

Other St Luke’s patients have been cared for at the St Luke’s In Patient Centre, with round-the- clock support and specialist care from the charity’s team of medical consultants, specialist registrars, doctors and nurses.

“We are quite simply overwhelmed by the generous level of support that Barclays has shown,” said St Luke’s head of fundraising, Joasia Lesniak.

“At any time, a donation of £100,000 would be beyond all expectations but as we continue to work on through the pandemic and strive to maintain vital levels of service for all the people of Sheffield, the impact of this donation simply cannot be underestimated.

“St Luke’s normally offers a 9am to 5pm, seven-day-per-week telephone helpline for patients, families and professionals through our Community Team. Thanks to this incredible level of funding, during the pandemic we’ve extended the helpline until 8pm daily, which will continue into 2021.”

Matthew Chenery, Barclays’ relationship director, said: “This crisis has had an unprecedented impact across the UK and we know this is an incredibly challenging time for many in South Yorkshire.

“By reaching those most in need of support, local charities such as St Luke’s Hospice have played a vital role in this crisis to date and no doubt they will do going forward.

“As a proud member of our community, we are doing everything we can for our customers, clients and colleagues.

“We hope that our partnership with St Luke’s Hospice will allow many others to access the help they need as this crisis develops.”

St Luke’s mission is to deliver the best possible palliative care in Sheffield.

At the same time it seeks to drive continual improvements for everyone affected by terminal illness. It is a charity and all its services are free.

Just 25 per cent of its funding comes from the NHS and this year it needs to raise £7.5m.

A spokesman for St Luke’s Hospice said: “The people with terminal illness we care for have more need than ever to make the most of every moment.

“While every patient is as different as the care they will receive, they all have this in common – their care will be about life.”

The spokesman added: “We also train other healthcare providers in Sheffield to care for their own terminally ill patients.”