A HOSPICE charity will be able to shift up a gear thanks to a six-figure donation.
The Myton Hospices has received a £100,000 donation from Barclays to fund three new specialist vehicles – to help realise its post-pandemic goal of taking its care ‘beyond the hospice walls’.
The Barclays Covid-19 Community Aid Package saw numerous charities and charitable organisations across the country apply for just 100 donations.
And Myton, which cares for terminally ill adults across Coventry and Warwickshire, was chosen as one of the lucky 100.
Joining the Myton team in the coming months will be two new Toyota Rav 4 self-charging hybrid 4x4s, designed to ensure nurses and all clinical staff are able to visit patients in their own homes whatever the weather, along with a new Wheelchair Adapted Vehicle to help transport patients to and from vital services.
Myton CEO Ruth Freeman said the donation would have a ‘huge impact’ on the charity’s ability to provide its services and care to patients across the community.
She said: “A huge, huge thank you to Barclays for this truly amazing donation at what is a future-defining time for The Myton Hospices.
“While we will not take our focus off providing end-of-life care in our Hospices, Myton has a long-term and long-standing goal to further improve the care and support it offers patients and their families beyond the hospice walls, which has only been enhanced and re-focused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
“The donation from Barclays to purchase these new vehicles will play such a huge part in these plans.”
To be in with a chance of securing one of the donations, charities had to propose a specific project which would support vulnerable people and communities impacted by Covid 19.
Myton’s application focused on the need for more vehicles to enable more nurses to meet the surge in demand seen for its Myton at Home service during the pandemic.
And the vehicles will provide further benefits. Two are self-charging hybrid 4x4s, which will reduce future costs, and reduce Myton’s carbon footprint and vehicle pollution.
The charity also chose the vehicles to help access patients during bad weather, which in the past has forced Myton to turn to local 4×4 owners or businesses to help transport nurses to patients.
And the Wheelchair Adapted Vehicle will allow staff and volunteers to safely transport any of Myton’s wheelchair-using patients to appointments and vital services.
Barclays Chairman Nigel Higgins said: “Covid-19 has created an unprecedented social and economic impact in the UK, with many experiencing greater hardship due to the crisis.
“Incredible charities, such as The Myton Hospices, have been playing a vital role in the UK’s response to the pandemic, ensuring urgent help reaches those most in need of support.
“We hope that by partnering with The Myton Hospices, and many other charities across the UK, collectively we can ensure that as many people as possible in the communities in which we live and work are supported through this crisis.”
