When we think of Healthcare Heroes, we often think of those who are more visible in the public eye; Doctors, Nurses, and frontline Hospital workers. While these staff members are absolutely crucial to the running of the NHS and the delivery of tailored healthcare, it’s important to remember those who go above and beyond outside the realms of our hospitals and GP surgeries. This includes our Healthcare Heroes that continue to deliver high-quality care and support at a community level.

Community Healthcare covers a huge array of services, from Physiotherapy to district Nursing. These services are delivered in a wide range of settings, including community centres, schools, and individual homes.

The nature of Community Healthcare presents its own set of challenges, partly due to its diversity. However, the arrival of COVID-19 has brought particular difficulties to the delivery of Community Healthcare, especially when it comes to PPE and social distancing.

Despite these obstacles, Community Healthcare workers have continued to demonstrate their resilience and dedication to their patients. This certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by the public, or by Trusts across the UK. Many local businesses have been donating goods, money, equipment and other morale-boosters, and several initiatives have been set in motion to support community healthcare staff.

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s charity, Three Wishes, has now launched a new fund to help community workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The charity have set up the ‘WWL Healthcare Heroes Fund’ to support staff and their wellbeing, through the pandemic and beyond.

Silas Nicholls, Chief Executive at WWL said:

 “The response from the community has been incredibly touching. At a time when we all need to come together and do our part, it has been lovely to see so many willing to help.

“Staff working within our sites or out in the community are under pressure as the pandemic continues. So, we felt with all the amazing offers and support, we wanted to create a new fund, as part of our Three Wishes charity, to support staff welfare.”

And it’s not just staff who have been going above and beyond. Thousands of volunteers across the UK have stepped up to provide care in the wake of the pandemic, ensuring that the most vulnerable communities are supported.

Derby Community Parent Programme Volunteers, this year’s winner of the Volunteer of the Year Award, are standing by 24 hours a day for parents at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

While COVID-19 restrictions have inevitably had an impact, the team have continued to assist expectant parents through text, telephone and email to support and protect parents, volunteers and their families. This type of peer support has proven to be incredibly effective in providing consistency and stability for hard-to-reach communities, as well as helping to bridge the gap between expecting parents and the professionals who care for them.

In the current climate, it’s therefore clear that Community Healthcare and support is now more vital than ever. It’s these services, and the people that provide them, that really do make a positive impact. Their unwavering support gives us all stability and consistency in our day to day lives.

If you’d like to say thank you to our community healthcare workers, you can donate to the WWL here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/wwlheroes

Be sure to keep a look out for our upcoming #myunsunghero social media campaign in the next few weeks, which will recognise and acknowledge healthcare heroes in local communities and beyond.

Written by Sarah Catherine Jones | Creative Content Assistant