A virtual hospice service started by a Kinross -based charity in response to the coronavirus pandemic is here to stay.
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), which runs Rachel House in Kinross, started the facility last year so it could continue to support children with life-limiting illnesses and their families.
It was being celebrated by families and staff across the country on its first anniversary earlier this week, with bosses saying it will become a permanent fixture.
Believed to be the first virtual hospice of its kind anywhere in the world, it now routinely supports children and families across Scotland.
Nurses, doctors, and family support specialists use technology to support families in their own homes.
Even as lockdown measures begin to ease, this essential service continues to reach hundreds of families at any one time and has become an integrated and essential part of CHAS’s services.
Rami Okasha, chief executive at CHAS, said: “The CHAS virtual hospice service was set up in record speed just over a year ago to give the children and families that we care for a lifeline in what has been an incredibly difficult time.
“Many of the families we support were, and some still are, self-isolating with their usual support systems cut off. We set out to be there for those families and remind them that they are never alone.
“Our virtual hospice is here to stay and will remain a vital part of how we provide care in the months ahead. If children can’t come to the hospice right now, we will continue to take the hospice to them.
“Keeping the joy alive is at the very heart of everything we do at CHAS and it’s the unwavering dedication of our supporters that has kept our services running; allowing us to introduce and integrate our virtual hospice service and be there for Scotland’s most vulnerable children and their families. For this, we’re incredibly grateful.”
