We are continually monitoring the Coronavirus (Covid-19) situation and taking sensible and necessary precautions to protect our patients, families, staff, volunteers and supporters in line with the latest advice provided by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England.
The symptoms of Covid-19 may be more severe in people with weakened immune systems, older people and those with long-term and life-threatening illnesses.
The Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System website aims to offer residents a single, comprehensive and accurate source of information about Covid-19 and vaccinations.
The site will be updated regularly and contains the very latest information on the ongoing vaccination programme in order to give people clarity on this major situation including:
St Helena is as dedicated as ever to providing the best possible care and support to our patients and families across north east Essex. A brief overview of the changes we have made to our services follows. You can also read more in our news article
The hospice; essential community nursing visits; and SinglePoint and Virtual Ward, continue to run as usual. We are closely monitoring and following all Government advice, and we have plans in place to ensure we can provide the best possible care to our patients and families, whilst keeping them, and our staff and volunteers, protected.
However, in order to protect our vulnerable patients from Covid-19, we have made some changes to some of our other services.
Day therapies groups that are usually run at the Joan Tomkins Centre in Colchester and Tendring Centre in Clacton have been suspended as of Wednesday 18th March 2020.
One to one bereavement and counselling support that is usually also run at these sites is offered over the phone instead of face to face. All bereavement drop-in groups have also been cancelled until further notice.
If you are a patient in the community and your circumstances have changed and you need our support, please do call SinglePoint, any time 24/7 on 01206 890 360.
Our visitors are a highly valued part of hospice life and bring great comfort to the patients, but at this difficult time, we are having to make the right decisions to protect our vulnerable patients, the staff caring for them and loved ones who are visiting.
All visits must be pre-arranged with the hospice main reception. To arrange a visit to a patient please call 01206 845 566.
We would ask you to do lateral flow test before your visit to the hospice (tests available to order from gov.uk) if you have a positive test result you should follow the guidance. If you do not have access to take a lateral flow test before your visit, we have a stock at reception and will ask you to take a test before entering the inpatient unit.
PLEASE DO NOT VISIT IF YOU HAVE HAD A POSITIVE LATERAL FLOW TEST
Please do not visit if you are required to self isolate.
Please do not visit if you are experiencing any of the main symptoms of Covid-19: a high temperature, a new, continuous cough and a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.
If you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 please contact the ward by phone on 01206 845 566 to discuss your situation so we can make any visits safe for yourself, your loved one and other patients.
Visiting the hospice for the purposes of visiting the memory tree, book of remembrance or the multi-faith chapel is permitted only on weekday mornings. An appointment must be made in advance. For book of remembrance or multi-faith chapel appointments please call the hospice reception on 01206 845 566. For memory tree appointments please call Lizzie on 01206 931 468.
During your visit you will be required to wear a face mask and comply with hand hygiene guidance.
We thank you for your understanding and co-operation at this challenging time.
Before visiting, please ensure you are compliant with the latest government guidance.
If you have any questions or concerns please ask to speak to the nurse in charge.
All visits must be pre-arranged with the hospice reception. Please call 01206 845566 to do this.
The rules outlined below are designed to protect our patients by adhering to social distancing guidance and limiting the number of people moving through the ward at any one time:
We would ask you to do lateral flow test before your visit to the hospice (tests available to order from gov.uk) if you have a positive test result you should follow the guidance. If you do not have access to take a lateral flow test before your visit, we have a stock at reception and will ask you to take a test before entering the inpatient unit.
PLEASE DO NOT VISIT IF YOU HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19.
Please do not visit if you are displaying symptoms of Covid-19 (i.e. new persistent cough, high temperature, loss/change of taste/smell).
Please do not visit if you are required to self isolate.
If you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 please contact the ward by phone on 01206 845 566 to discuss your situation so we can make any visits safe for yourself, your loved one and other patients.
Read the latest Government guidance around Covid-19
If you wish to speak with a doctor, please let us know in advance of your visit and we will try to arrange this for you.
During your visit
Guidance will be reviewed periodically according to government guidelines.
If you are unable to visit please ask ward staff about other ways to stay in contact e.g. email (keepintouch@sthelena.org.uk) or video calls (iPads are available on the ward for patients' use and staff will be happy to assist).
The safety of all our patients, staff and you is our priority. Therefore, we reserve the right to ask you to leave the premises if you do not adhere to the current guidance.
We thank you for your understanding and co-operation at this challenging time.
Visiting someone with Covid-19 could result in you becoming infected with Covid-19 yourself. If you are in a shielding or other high risk hroup you should not visit anyone with Covid-19.
We would ask you to do lateral flow test before your visit to the hospice (tests available to order from gov.uk) if you have a positive test result you should follow the guidance. If you do not have access to take a lateral flow test before your visit, we have a stock at reception and will ask you to take a test before entering the inpatient unit.
PLEASE DO NOT VISIT IF YOU HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19.
Please do not visit if you are displaying symptoms of Covid-19 (i.e. new persistent cough, high temperature, loss/change of taste/smell).
Please do not visit if you are required to self isolate.
If you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 please contact the ward by phone on 01206 845 566 to discuss your situation so we can make any visits safe for yourself, your loved one and other patients.
The rules outlined below are designed to protect you:
Planning your visit
During your visit
After your visit
Guidance will be reviewed periodically according to government guidelines.
If you are unable to visit please ask ward staff about other ways to stay in contact e.g. email (keepintouch@sthelena.org.uk) or video calls (iPads are available on the ward for patients' use and staff will be happy to assist).
The safety of all our patients, staff and you is our priority. Therefore, we reserve the right to ask you to leave the premises if you do not adhere to the current guidance.
We thank you for your understanding and co-operation at this challenging time.
Arrangements regarding visiting have been relaxed because we believe your loved one is in the last few days of their life.
We would ask you to do lateral flow test before your visit to the hospice (tests available to order from gov.uk) if you have a positive test result you should follow the guidance. If you do not have access to take a lateral flow test before your visit, we have a stock at reception and will ask you to take a test before entering the inpatient unit.
PLEASE DO NOT VISIT IF YOU HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19.
Please do not visit if you are displaying symptoms of Covid-19 (i.e. new persistent cough, high temperature, loss/change of taste/smell).
Please do not visit if you are required to self isolate.
If you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 please contact the ward by phone on 01206 845 566 to discuss your situation so we can make any visits safe for yourself, your loved one and other patients.
Read the latest Government guidance around Covid-19
If you wish to speak with a doctor, please let us know in advance of your visit and we will try to arrange this for you.
During your visit
Guidance will be reviewed periodically according to government guidelines.
If you are unable to visit please ask ward staff about other ways to stay in contact e.g. email (keepintouch@sthelena.org.uk) or video calls (ipads are available on the ward for patient's use).
The safety of all our patients, staff and you is our priority. Therefore, we reserve the right to ask you to leave the premises if you do not adhere to the current guidance.
We thank you for your understanding and co-operation at this challenging time.
If you have a relative or friend staying at the hospice and you would like to check on their condition or make sure they're ok, please in the first instance call the next of kin to ask for an update, as we will be in regular contact with them.
If you do phone the hospice to ask after your loved one, please bear with us in waiting for a response. Our nursing staff are often with patients when loved ones phone, and to speak with you they have to disrobe their PPE, dispose of it, and then when they return put on all new PPE to resume the duty they were in the middle of. With a shortage of PPE, we're desperately trying to do everything we can to avoid wasting its use. We will therefore ask that you either speak with the next of kin for an update; or leave your details and one of our team will come back to you as soon as they have an appropriate moment to do so.
Please be assured that if anything changes in your loved one's condition or if we need to update you on anything, we will be in contact with the next of kin.
We thank you for your understanding at this time.
We’re facing a devastating loss of income because of the impact of Covid-19. If you would like to support us to secure the future of St Helena, here are some of the ways you can:
Your donation, large or small, can make a big difference, giving more local people dignity and choice at the end of life.
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