Derbyshire County Councillors rally behind Ashgate Hospicecare with £33,500 grant
Ashgate Hospicecare, which provides specialist palliative and end of life care to adults and their families across North Derbyshire, has been awarded £33,500 in grant funding as the charity seeks to plug the £2.4 million financial deficit caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Following an application to Derbyshire County Council’s Membership Community Leadership Scheme, which allocates a budget to each of their 64 county councillors to be used to support projects in their Division, the charity will receive £33,500.
The substantial grant will contribute towards the running costs of their 21 bed Inpatient Unit, which provides complex care to those living with a life-limiting illness. In addition to enhanced infection control costs and general overheads, the grant will also be used to help fund a special Christmas Day dinner with all the trimmings for patients.
Barbara-Anne Walker, Chief Executive at Ashgate Hospicecare, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the support offered to us by the members of the Community Leadership Scheme. This donation will help us to continue delivering our care over the coming winter months and allow our patients and their families to make the most of the time they have together.
“Grants such as this one will help to make a difference and are gratefully received by us all at Ashgate. The grant is even more significant as we find ourselves amid a second nationwide lockdown.
“We are anxiously awaiting the decision from NHS Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) about whether they will commit to the long-term funding we urgently need to support our existing services.”
The grant was supported by seven County Councillors who chose to allocate part of their budgets to the hospice. This included Ron Mihaly (£1000) Jean Innes (£1500) Stuart Brittain (£2000) Dave Allen (£1000) Mick Wall (£4600) and Helen Elliott (£10000) and Sharon Blank (£13400).
Councillor Mick Wall, deputy leader of Derbyshire County Council’s Labour opposition, said: “When I saw the news about the financial impact that the COVID pandemic was having on Ashgate Hospice, I quickly contacted the charity to see how we, as local Councillors, could help most quickly and effectively. We just had to help because we know how much Ashgate Hospice does to support and care for people in all of our local communities.”
Following the financial crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Ashgate Hospicecare have launched an urgent Winter Crisis Appeal, encouraging their local community to help them care for patients through their most difficult winter yet.
