29th April 2015
A service providing support for people returning home from hospital has been given an extra £20,000 this year.
Cumbria Community Foundation, Managed Service Provider of the Neighbourhood Care Independence (NCI) Programme has released the additional funds to extend the Home from Hospital service provided by the British Red Cross.
Home from Hospital delivers support to people being discharged from hospital who may need extra help when returning home with tasks such as ensuring basic food is available, the heating is on and picking up prescriptions.
80-year-old Sarah Smith fell and broke her ankle and was referred to the service by staff at her local hospital. She lives alone and was worried how she would manage her day-to-day tasks, such shopping, laundry, and cleaning. The Home from Hospital volunteers helped Mrs Smith get her food from the local shops, post letters and pay bills while she was unable to go out.
Mrs Smith said: “The service was wonderful, I really wouldn’t have been able to manage without the support.”
Cath Howard, Chief Operating Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation said: “We are delighted that our flexible grant making is able to direct these funds to a much needed service, supporting people as they continue their recovery, and hopefully reducing the need for hospital readmission. More than 5,000 Home from Hospital visits have been carried out to date and over seven times more people have accessed the service than in the previous year.”
The enhanced Home from Hospital service is available seven days per week and into the evenings. The extension will also see the development of an ‘on call’ facility.
Since the NCI Programme started in 2012, over 33,000, mainly older Cumbrians, have used one or more of the services provided by over 30 NCI partners county-wide.
The Neighbourhood Care Independence Programme is funded by Cumbria County Council and managed by Cumbria Community Foundation. They will be working together towards other service extensions for the coming year.
To find out more about any of the NCI services including Home from Hospital call the NCI Helpline 0844 967 1885 or for residents in West Cumbria call 08443 843 843.