The Harpenden Trust is always pleased to hear how it has made a difference to the lives of people in Harpenden. We recently received a letter of thanks from Rennie Grove Hospice Care which highlighted their use of a grant of £2,000 from the Trust’s Community Fund in March 2021 for the purchase of a Portable Oxygen Concentrator (POC).
The POC was purchased in June 2021 by Rennie Grove for patients visiting its day services building, Grove House, which re-opened in July. The POC is used to provide a safe and clinically accurate supply of extra oxygen to those patients needing it, drawing on the air in the room in which it is located and avoiding the risks and other disadvantages of the use of oxygen canisters. The POC is designed to be easy to manoeuvre and can be wheeled between rooms - like a wheelie suitcase - giving it incredible flexibility and supporting patients to be more independent and mobile when at Grove House.
Throughout 2021 a total of 65 Harpenden patients were supported by Grove House, helped to remain comfortable and well while accessing the care and facilities offered. The Harpenden residents accessed the service some 308 times for a total of 1,705 clinical staff contact hours across a range of services, including home hospice care, day hospice care, occupational therapy, counselling and a range of other care facilities.
Grove House, based in St Albans, provides essential care to local patients across the district. The range of day services that are provided offer health and wellbeing support for local patients, so they can live well throughout their illness. The day services are open to anyone who has been diagnosed with a life-limiting or potentially life-threatening condition, regardless of the prognosis. Grove House supports patients who have recently received a diagnosis; are currently receiving treatment; are living with a long-term life-limiting illness; or, who have been successfully treated but who need physical or emotional support through the recovery period. Rennie Grove Hospice Care and the services they provide at Grove House make a significant difference to the lives of patients and their carers, who would otherwise struggle to cope.
As always referral demand remains high, something exacerbated by the additional pressures of the COVID pandemic. The charity provides a huge amount of support with its hospice at home care, taking some pressure off of NHS hospitals.
To learn more about Rennie Grove Hospice Care click here.
04 March 2022