ELDERLY HOSPITAL PATIENTS RECEIVE A LIFELINE FROM BURTON UPON TRENT ROTARY CLUB

MORE than 150 elderly, vulnerable people have been given a helping hand after being discharged from hospital thanks to a Burton Rotary Club project. The Home from Hospital Packs project ensures that patients, often elderly and living alone, will return home from University Hospitals of Derby and Derby Discharge Unit in Burton upon Trent with essentials such as milk, tea and soup to help them settle back home after a hospital stay.

A similar project was running in Caterham Rotary Club and after a review of their project by the Burton upon Trent Rotary Club it was decided in 2019 to launch a similar scheme. By the end of 2019 the University Hospitals of Burton NHS Foundation Trust, via the Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity, had confirmed that they would support the project and had nominated a team to discuss it in more detail. Having their backing the next challenge was to contact the local supermarkets community departments and in June 2020 Waitrose backed the project with a £333 donation which went towards the purchase of 200 special jute bags to start the initiative. The use of jute was based upon it being a renewable resource making it a more sustainable alternative to synthetic fabrics and it also has a low carbon footprint. At this point due to Covid restrictions and the immense impact upon the local hospital, the project was put on hold but was restarted in August 2021 and working with the Discharge Assessment Unit, the contents of each pack were agreed and the first four were provided on the 28th September 2021.

The contents of the bags include: Tea bags, UHT semi skimmed milk, Two tins of baked beans, Cream crackers, Tins of tomato soup and vegetable soup, Two packets of biscuits & Two tins of fruit.

The scheme was so successful it received the Ernest Pappin Award for the best project in District 1220 for 2022-2023 with Burton Rotary Club facing competition from more than 60 other clubs in the District. Mel Thomas, Past-President of Burton Rotary, said: “One of the core aims of Rotary is to support quality of life for people in their communities. We are constantly looking for major projects that will benefit the community and this led us to identify a need for the ‘Home from Hospital Packs’ initiative. We have been delighted with the support we have had from the hospital and the response from patients receiving the packs and we work very closely with the team at the discharge unit who let me know when they need some packs. Every time I deliver the packs, besides the big thank you, I get to see the faces of the nursing staff light up with a big smile showing their gratitude, this alone makes the project worthwhile.”

The award-winning project has had a big impact on the local community. Jill Matthews, Chief Officer at Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity said: "We are extremely very grateful for the wonderful work that the Rotary are doing to support our older patients to ensure they have access to the essentials they need when they are discharged from hospital such as milk and tea. It's these little, but important touches like having milk and tea available, so that they can get the kettle on and make a cup of tea. These packs really are making a huge difference and helping people settle back home after being in hospital." Marc De-Haviland, Uttoxeter Branch Manager at Waitrose, commented: "We are always keen to support local charities and grow authentic relationships within our local communities. Having helped support the initial start-up of the hospital project I'm truly delighted that we continue to work together."

Photo taken on 31st July 2024 at the Discharge Unit at Queen’s Hospital to mark the delivery of the 150th pack. Pictured left to right are: Michelle Gregory-Frost, Lead Discharge Nurse, Jilliane Goc-Ong, a registered nurse, and Mel Thomas.