Advice regarding Covid-19

COVID-19 Update

Visiting update 09/11/20

Since the outbreak of COVID 19 – our Hospices have had to make the very difficult decision to limit visiting.  The Hospice is continuing to follow all UK Government and Public Health England guidelines and best practice to ensure everyone at the Hospice and in the community are protected as much as possible.  Our main priority will always be keeping our patients, their relatives, friends, our staff, volunteers and the wider community safe.

As England is presently in the second Lockdown, visiting restrictions remain in place and is for exceptional visiting only.  All patients can have a settling in visit on admission by one family member.  Thereafter visits are only permissible for patients in the last days of life.  All visitors must discuss with the clinical team prior to visiting their relative, and on arrival at the Hospice, you will be guided by a member of the clinical team as to what Personal Protective Equipment you will be required to wear.  When attending the hospice, please ensure you are wearing a suitable face covering as you enter the building.  Under no circumstances should visitors arrive at the Hospice unannounced.

For patients in the last days of life, visiting is limited to one person, but this is always with the agreement of the senior nurse on duty, so please discuss with the clinical team.  Unfortunately due to social distancing restrictions and limited space in the Hospice, we cannot accommodate family congregating in the building.  Please be mindful of the weather as should there be more than the single visitor with the patient, you will be asked to wait outside in your vehicle. 

We will support contact between patient and family members virtually through the use of social media, and there will be regular updates from the clinical team provided to the next of kin.

We appreciate this is very difficult for patients and their families but these restrictions are in place to protect patients and staff from the consequence of COVID.

Outpatients appointments and visiting in the patient's home

At the present time, all services have been reinstated following the ending of the first lockdown.  All patients have been contacted and services are returning to a form of normality.  All patient appointments at the Hospice are planned and appropriate information is provided either verbally or by letter prior to the patient attending.  Under no circumstances should patients attend for an appointment unannounced.  When attending appointments, all patients and anyone supporting the patient will be required to wear a suitable face covering, which should cover the mouth, nose and under the chin.  Anyone planning to see a patient in their own home, will be contacted and questions about COVID risk will be asked.  All staff will be wearing the appropriate PPE when they attend the home visit.  Wherever possible to ensure the safety of our patients, virtual appointments or follow ups will be agreed with the patient where this is possible.

During the COVID-19 emergency and beyond, the safety and wellbeing of our employees, our supporters and our community remains at the heart of our decision making process here at Cynthia Spencer Hospice Charity.

In order to protect our employees and supporters, and ensure our charity can remain open, we have adapted our ways of working, and have been working with Peninsula to develop guidance for our employees, supporters and other stakeholders. 

We continue to follow the latest official guidance and carefully monitor the COVID-19 situation.

Staying safe during COVID19

If anyone has concerns about our safe working arrangements, please raise it with the line manager if you are one of our employees or email charlotte@cynthiaspencer.co.uk.

Our COVID-19 Risk Assessment

In line with sound Health and Safety practices we have undertaken a COVID-19 risk assessment, taking into account how we operate whilst continuing to maintain the safety and well-being of our employees, supporters, suppliers and others involved in our day-to-day activities. Our assessment for our Donation Station and Fundraising office is available here and will be reviewed on a regular basis in light of new guidance and any feedback from relevant stakeholders.

Advice for visitors to Cynthia Spencer Hospice

26th March 2020 - In response to the continuing crisis with the Covid-19 outbreak, Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust have had to put additional measures in place affecting visiting to protect our patients:

For those patients who are in the last days of life, we will review this policy on a daily basis however we must emphasise a maximium of one visitor will be allowed at the bedside at any one time and we ask families to ensure they adhere to this. 

If you are visiting the hospice, we please ask you to adhere to the following:

• All communal areas in the hospice are out of bounds and we ask relatives not to congregate inside the unit
• Please ensure you maintain the distance of 2 metres from each other and you frequently wash your hands
• According to latest guidance children under 12 are not allowed to visit

Please click this link for ways you can Keep in touch with your loved one virtually

Advice to patients 

Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust also advise that patients receiving care from the following services will be contacted individually to explore future arrangements. :

• Lymphoedema 
• Wellbeing  
• Community team 
• Medical outpatients

Patients can still contact the service and someone will call them back and discuss their symptoms with them. 

Advice to fundraisers and donors

On behalf of the hospice and fundraising teams could we please ask fundraisers and donors to refrain from arriving at the hospice unannounced. Please contact the fundraising team on 01604 973340 or email fundraising@cynthiaspencer.co.uk in order to safely arrange handover of fundraising monies.