Patients and visitors at a much-loved North East hospice are sitting much more comfortably thanks to a four-figure grant from a regional employer.
Butterwick Hospice has used a £1,785 grant from the Banks Group’s Banks Community Fund to replace 15 worn and outdated armchairs in the hospice’s Bishop Auckland counselling suites.
With the existing chairs being over 20 years old, they were no longer able to provide the comfort, safety or stability required for patients, bereaved individuals and family members while they were attending counselling sessions at the Woodhouse Lane facility.
The new seating will help to create a safer, more dignified and emotionally supportive environment by improving client comfort, accessibility and the overall therapeutic experience.
It’s the second grant that Butterwick Hospice has received funding from Banks in the last 12 months, with a £1,900 grant enabling it to buy two new two syringe drivers, which are used to deliver different medications to patients without the need for a separate injection to be given each time, thereby increasing patient comfort during their treatment and care.
Butterwick Hospice supports local people and communities across Teesside and County Durham and provides palliative, holistic and bereavement support for children and adults living with life-limiting illnesses, as well as support for their families and loved ones.
It was founded in 1984 by Mary Butterwick OBE following the death of her husband John. She drew on her own experiences to develop a holistic service to care for adults, babies and children, as well as providing support for their families and loved ones.
All Butterwick’s services are provided free of charge and delivered directly from hospice premises in Stockton and Bishop Auckland, as well as in patients’ homes through a dedicated home care service team.
It costs around £3m every year to fund the hospice’s services, with less than 30% of this amount coming from statutory funds.
Brian Waugh, grants and trusts fundraiser at Butterwick Hospice, says: “Our counselling rooms are in very regular use, supporting patients living with life-limiting illness, family members and carers under significant strain, and children and adults coping with bereavement.
“Counselling can naturally often involve long, emotionally-intense conversations, and when someone is physically uncomfortable, it can heighten anxiety and distract from the therapeutic process.
“These modern, supportive armchairs will help clients feel physically at ease, allowing them to relax, build trust with their counsellor and engage more openly, and we’re confident that they will help to improve overall well-being outcomes for both patients and family members.
“At a time when hospice budgets are widely recognised as being under significant pressure, the kind of financial support that Banks have provided is particularly meaningful.
“It enables us to direct our core funds toward essential medical and nursing services while also making facilities improvements which directly affect patient experience and which otherwise simply might not be possible.”
Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, adds: “The Butterwick Hospice team is absolutely dedicated to doing everything it can to support patients and their families during the most difficult of times, and we’re very pleased to be extending our support for Butterwick’s invaluable work.”
The Banks Group’s community funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation).
Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should contact the company via its website enquiry form (www.banksgroup.co.uk/contact-us/) to find out if their group or project is eligible.