July 2020

17 Buckden Roundabout July 2020 Buckfest The 3 Pillars - Feeding the Homeless We had to stop our normal feeding the Homeless Service, with our 2 Charity Vans, once COVID - 19 struck. All the homeless have been given some sort of accommodation, mainly hotels, but strictly room only. We have teamed up with other charities and are providing large volumes of food for over 100 Homeless people, 7 days a week. which is a great strain on our finances. We are doing all we can to stop the spread of coronavirus, save lives and keep people safe. Our staff are working hard around the clock to care for disabled people in isolation. In the battle against coronavirus, it's vital they have more personal protective equipment (PPE). Without it, carers put themselves, their loved ones and those they care for at risk. PPE includes Masks, Visors, Gloves & Aprons. Having this equipment means we can still offer care, reassurance and nursing to extremely vulnerable people. People who are scared like all of us. Social care providers still can ’ t get adequate supplies of vital personal protective equipment through Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) that were mobilised by the Government as part of its response to Coronavirus. It ’ s deeply worrying that such problems persist at this key stage, particularly with easing of lockdown measures widely trailed, and with such slow progress being made in suppressing spread of this deadly virus. Leonard Cheshire is the UK ’ s largest charity provider of social care, supporting around 3,000 people at 120 residential services. It says many Forums can at best supply a maximum of 72 hours ’ worth of equipment. Other Forums appear to have even less stock at their disposal or have run out entirely. One council told the charity that they are so low on supplies they may have to close some care homes. There are 38 LRFs in England which are made up of emergency services, a range of government agencies, health bodies and local authorities. LRFs plan for major emergencies to reduce or prevent the impact on communities in their area. The continued problems with PPE supply emerge at a time of huge demand for the life - saving masks, gowns, gloves and aprons across the health and social care sector as a result of COVID - 19. Leonard Cheshire understands all councils provided the government with estimates of stock required so they had enough PPE for essential services in their area, such as GP clinics and care homes. Leonard Cheshire is spending around £400,000 per month on PPE, including needing 50,000 masks a week. It recently launched a fundraising appeal to ask the public to help it meet these unprecedented costs. • £10 could buy a box of disposable gloves so we can handle things safely and keep surfaces clean. • £15 could buy full - face visors so we can keep close contact with people and make sure their needs are met. • £45 could buy a box of 50 masks so we can keep covered - reducing the risk to residents, our carers and their families. Support from their own supply chain, smaller suppliers and firms adapting to PPE production means it now has adequate sup- plies of most items for several weeks. This has only been achieved after a mammoth effort by the charity. Neil Heslop, CEO of Leonard Cheshire, said: “ Despite claims by Ministers that supply chain issues are almost resolved, this is not what organisations at the frontline are ex- periencing on the ground. The government must get a firm grip on this. Sadly, much of the rhetoric we are hearing is not matched by the reality. PPE is only being provided by Local Resilience Forums in relatively small volumes and in some cases sup- plies appear exhausted. It ’ s deeply worrying that such problems persist at this key stage, particularly with easing of lockdown measures widely trailed, and with such slow progress being made in suppressing spread of this deadly virus. Frontline teams are delivering for vulnerable people every day in very difficult circumstances, they deserve better. ” 2020/2021 looked set to be an excellent year for HCCN. We were excited about running our own Fire- walk, we had been chosen as a key charity for support by Buckfest and were starting to organise our Winter Ball. Our plans for the development of our support activities were also in place. What could go wrong?! Overnight our fundraising just stopped along with our ability to deliver services also stopped. Certain costs could not be avoided, although as a charity run by volunteers, these were thankfully lim- ited. Of course we were determined to continue supporting our users and very open to doing it differently. With the support of our wonderful activity leaders, we have embraced technology and are constantly searching for different ways to help people feel that they still matter and are still cared for by HCCN. But doing things differently brings with it unplanned costs. Funds planned for use next year have to be used now. As a charity we are confident that we will survive Covid - 19 and we will rebuild but we cannot avoid being hurt by losing our key income streams this year.