Last updated: 26th March 2020
At Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, the wellbeing of the people we support, hospice visitors, staff and volunteers is our number one priority. We know that this is a worrying and uncertain time for many, but we’d like to assure you that we are committed to continuing to provide our expert care to individuals and their loved ones across Birmingham and Sandwell.
That’s why we’re following advice and guidance issued by the government and World Health Organisation, to ensure we’re taking the necessary steps regarding the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Visiting the Hospice – patient visiting suspended
Due to the continued rise in coronavirus cases in the UK, our Inpatient Unit is now closed to all visitors. This has been a difficult decision for the Hospice to take, but it is important we do so to protect all our patients and staff. We are looking at how we can use technology to enable relatives to contact their loved ones during this time.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation during these exceptional circumstances. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call us on 0121 752 8788 / 0121 752 8789.
Update on our services
Our focus is to keep our urgent and essential care services running. Therefore, our Inpatient Unit continues to operate and we are still providing urgent care to patients in their own homes. However, for patients with less urgent needs, we are monitoring and keeping in touch via telephone calls and digital consultations.
Unfortunately, we have had to temporarily suspend our Day Hospice, Welcome Group, Space to Breath and Support at Home services. This is following government advice on social distancing, to help reduce the spread of coronavirus and keep people safe. All patients using these services have been informed and we are providing telephone support when needed.
Our Family and Carer Support team are continuing to provide much-needed emotional and psychological support. Although we have had to stop home visits, we are offering support via telephone calls.
If you’re being supported by the Hospice and have any questions (whether you’re a patient, partner, family member, loved one or carer) please give us a call. All the numbers for each of our services can be found here.
Our charity shops
We have temporarily closed all 17 of our shops for the safety of our customers, staff and volunteers. These are extremely difficult times requiring hard decisions. As a charity, we rely on the generosity of our local community for over 60% of our funding, so we need your help more than ever before to continue to care for our patients and support families. If you can, please make a donation online to help keep our services running.
Fundraising activities
Following government guidelines discouraging mass gatherings, we have postponed a number of our fundraising events. If you signed up to one of these events, a member of our team will be in touch soon to let you know your next steps.
We encourage you to support us in other ways, such as virtual events or donations, to enable us to continue to deliver much-needed services in these exceptional circumstances. Thank you to all our supporters who have continued to raise money in these very difficult times. Your generosity is needed now more than ever before.
For people wanting to make a donation to the Hospice, we are kindly asking you to make it online, via BACS or post – but not at the Hospice. This is to stop the spread of coronavirus and to help keep our patients safe. You can make your online donation here or give our fundraising team a call on 0121 752 8779.
Thank you again for your cooperation. For more information on the national guidelines about coronavirus, please visit here.