Our wonderful NHS doctors, nurses and support staff are currently on the front line of one of the worst health crises the UK has ever seen. Every day they put themselves at risk to help save lives while at the same time sadly losing colleagues to this horribly contagious disease. In the face of all of this, the NHS has stepped up its’ commitment to help support local communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The NHS and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) have set up a joint Covid-19 Fund of £100,000 and the first round of grant funding has been awarded to enable four local community groups to support vulnerable people affected by coronavirus, particularly to benefit those with health needs. Funds have been awarded to:
- Headway Portsmouth & South East Hampshire, £6,862 to provide support for vulnerable service users, many with brain injuries,
- HIVE Portsmouth, £5,000 to help provide vital food and prescription services to those following guidelines and shielding or self-isolating,
- Sebastian Action Trust, North Waltham, £10,000 to provide care packages for vulnerable families with children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions,
- Viables Community Association, £2,210 to provide resources to support patients with dementia in Basingstoke
- 360 Degree Sports Coaching CIC £2,880 to enable vulnerable children to attend a high quality child care service, for vulnerable children with a range of needs and key workers children
- Enable Ability £10,000 helping people with a learning disability or autism to access health services
- Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust £5,000 for end of life care and post bereavement support
- Andover Young Carers £8,764 to help alleviate the impact of caring on young people
- Winchester Youth Counselling, £8,000 to continue to supply informal support and counselling to young people and parents who are struggling to cope with the effects of Covid-19
- Yateley Industries for the Disabled Ltd, £2,000 to support residents and keep them safe at what is a very challenging time for them
- Breast Cancer Haven, £9,346 to continue to support people with breast cancer in Wessex Counties by delivering support services remotely for the next three months of self isolation and social distancing.
- Twins Trust, £3,200, to support support expectant and new families with twins, triplets or more during COVID19
- People Matter IW, £1.000 to provide new equipment to support additional members with sensory equipment for families with autism, learning disabilities and ADHD
Headway Portsmouth & South East Hampshire has received a grant from the NHS Covid-19 Fund of £6,862 for their helpline, providing a one-to-one support service for vulnerable service users, many with brain injuries, who are following guidelines and self-isolating. Each service user receives purposeful daily contact from Headway, with back up support and advice to help them access vital medication and food supplies during this confusing and disruptive time.
Joy Ward, Funding Strategy & Trading Support Manager at Headway said “As well as supporting our isolating service users and carers, we have been advised of patients who are being discharged early as a result of the pandemic and thanks to this funding we are able to include them and give them the support they need at this critical time. We can monitor each person and react before any issues arise, which will help to reduce the instance of return to hospital, easing the burden on the NHS and relieving the anxiety, confusion, stress and isolation of the recovering individual.”
Grant Cornwell MBE, Chief Executive at HIWCF commented, “We are extremely proud to work with the NHS to ensure funding is channelled rapidly to those most in need. The NHS is tackling a disease that didn’t exist four months ago and the scale and speed of this crisis has been immense. New Nightingale Hospitals have been built, ventilator and PPE supply chains are outputting at maximum levels, new testing sites and testing kits are in use and brand new vaccination programmes have already begun. The aim of these grants is to complement all of this hard work in the fight against the virus by supporting our network of community and charitable groups to help the NHS to make a difference, by enabling people to stay in their own homes, freeing up hospital beds, and easing the burden on the NHS. We would like to thank the NHS and our HIWCF donors and fund holders for making this possible.”
Ros Hartley, Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups said: “NHS staff have received a huge amount of gratitude and appreciation recently, and we are deeply grateful for that. But we are also acutely aware that this is a team effort, and that we need to support each other. There are so many people and organisations out there doing amazing and vital work – we wanted to make sure we were doing our bit to help them, just as they are helping our staff and the people who rely on them for care.”
HIWCF is inviting local businesses, families and individuals to support the ‘We’re All Together’ community campaign to tackle coronavirus by making donations via the HIWCF website virginmoneygiving.com/fund/AllTogether
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Notes To Editors
HIWCF Contact Details for Editor:
Name: Grant Cornwell MBE, Chief Executive, grant.cornwell@hiwcf.com
Lucy Sweet, Marketing Manager, lucy@hiwcf.com
Telephone: 01962 798700
About Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation
Registered Charity No: 1100417 – Registered Company Number 4534462
The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) is an independent charitable trust established to inspire local giving for local need. The Community Foundation works both with donors who want to give something back to their local communities and voluntary groups providing vital services for local people where often a few hundred pounds can make a real difference to their lives. Companies, individuals, families and trusts can establish a fund with the Foundation, which supports a growing programme of grant-making to communities. HIWCF is part of a national network of 46 Community Foundations, one of the fastest growing philanthropic movements in the UK. Local groups can take a look at the HIWCF website to see if they might qualify for a grant: www.hiwcf.com or email HIWCF at grantsadmin@hiwcf.com
NHS – Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups
Ensuring patients receive the care they need, in the right place and at the right time is the top priority for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups (the Partnership). The Partnership serves a population of more than one million people and manages a budget of £1.4 billion. It is made up of four clinical commissioning groups from Fareham and Gosport and South Eastern Hampshire, North Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The CCGs in the Partnership have a single Chief Executive and executive team, with a clinical chair and managing director. The clinical commissioning groups of Fareham and Gosport, North Hampshire and South Eastern Hampshire established a formal partnership on April 1, 2017. The Isle of Wight CCG joined the Partnership in April 1, 2018. The aim of the Partnership is to help accelerate improvements in patient care, be more effective and reduce duplication. By working together, the Partnership shares capacity and skills and operates with greater consistency with our partners for the benefit of patients.
