Not for Profit
Tom Goodinge, Director of Fundraising, uses the Virtual Day Hospice service.
Published: August 5, 2021 | Updated: 6th August 2021
A Virtual Day Hospice service is believed to be leading the way nationally with its innovative approach.
The service, from Poole-based Lewis-Manning Hospice Care, was launched in January after the nation went into its third lockdown.
While other hospice providers have introduced similar virtual day care support, it is believed that Lewis-Manning Hospice Care is the only hospice provider in the UK that is going the ‘extra mile’.
It is providing tablet devices with full connectivity – no home broadband required – to ensure that all of its patients can access the service.
The vital service was made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund.
Clare Gallie, CEO, pictured, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect so many aspects of all our lives and with the temporary closure of our Day Hospice and local hubs across East Dorset and Purbeck, to ensure the safety of our patients, Lewis-Manning needed to find a safe way to continue to support and care for patients at home.
“In early autumn 2020 a project group was assembled, once the hospice had received funding from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, so that we could launch this fantastic and unique service.
“Lewis-Manning’s Virtual Day Hospice is one of the platforms that has allowed the organisation to continue to provide expert palliative care and advice, as well as essential support to adults and families in East Dorset and Purbeck who are living with a life-limiting illness.
“So many of our patients felt socially isolated at this time, so it was our aim to provide much-needed social interaction for those people who are shielding at home.
“The purpose of the virtual sessions is to promote a sense of wellbeing and a positive approach to living with a life-limiting illness, as well as to alleviate the feeling of loneliness that patients may be experiencing and giving direct clinical advice and support.
“Evaluation of the service has been incredibly positive with findings showing that 92 per cent of patients have identified that their quality of life has improved or stayed the same since starting the Virtual Day Hospice (some patients will inevitably become more ill as time progresses due to the nature of their life-limiting illness).
“96 per cent reported that the Virtual Day Hospice is a benefit to them in their life, 78 per cent of users reported that it was very easy to join online sessions, 95 per cent reported it gives them benefit in their lives, 96 per cent said that they were enjoying the sessions.
“When asked what they enjoyed most about the Virtual Day Hospice, 78 per cent said they loved the online face to face contact, whilst 22 per cent said it was the quizzes.
“ 92 per cent of patients stated that their preference of supportive care, ‘once we can see patients face to face again’, would be a hybrid of Virtual Day Hospice and face to face contact, four per cent opted to just have virtual support and no face to face contact and a further four per cent opted for only face to face support.
“These findings are invaluable for our clinical team, as it really allows the charity hospice to listen to what matters to the patients and provide them with the care they individually want.
“It is great to hear so many of the patients see a benefit from this service and want to continue with the Virtual Day Hospice service even when full restrictions are lifted and our Day Hospices are back in full swing.”
Mandy Harris, Senior Day Hospice Nurse, said: “To date we have provided devices to 45 patients, delivering directly to their homes with support from our amazing volunteers providing comprehensive training and support to ensure that patients can fully utilise their devices and have full access to the online services.
“This personalised support helps to alleviate anxiety around usage of the tablets and makes sure that patients have the confidence to engage with all of our online services and to be able fully participate in our diverse programme of events.
“Feedback has been superb with many patients reporting how it is positively impacting on their emotional wellbeing and how they really enjoy the social interaction with both staff and fellow patients.
“Whilst a virtual service cannot be a total substitute for physical social contact, it has been acknowledged that it goes a long way to being a very positive psychological factor in the routines of the patients that we care for and helps to alleviate the feelings of isolation and loneliness that they might be experiencing at these times and provides much needed companionship.
“Having listened to the needs and feedback from our patients and their families we know that virtual is certainly working for our hospice community.”
The online programme includes a mix of activities, including;
Patient quotes included:
Clare said: “We are thrilled with the success of our Virtual Day Hospice, the team have done an amazing job to get this service up and running during the huge pressures Covid has brought and at a time when people in our local area so desperately need care and support.
“The Virtual Day Hospice is certainly helping to give all of our patients more choice and allowing them to continue to access support in the comfort of their own homes.
“Patients are not disadvantaged if they do not own a computer or if they don’t have home broadband as our solution provides for this allowing us to be even more inclusive.”
Tim Goodson, Chief Officer at NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We are pleased to be working with Lewis-Manning Hospice Care and believe that the innovation of organisations such as this, who are finding new ways of delivering to meet patient need, make a significant difference.”
