Marie Curie responds to today's announcement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Comment published
Today the Chancellor announced unprecedented support for charities like Marie Curie that are on the frontline fighting the Coronavirus pandemic, and providing care to dying patients, with and without the virus.
In response, Marie Curie Chief Executive Matthew Reed said:
“Today’s announcement is very welcome. This funding will ease our financial pressures and help us further step up our essential hospice and community hospice-at-home services, as they support dying people and their families, and partner the NHS through this devastating national Covid-19 crisis.
“Marie Curie has over 3,000 frontline nurses, doctors and hospice staff keeping dying people away from hospital, when every bit of available capacity is needed to care for people diagnosed with the virus.
“These are very challenging times for Marie Curie and our frontline clinical teams. Unlike some other many healthcare providers, we are heavily reliant on charitable donations to run our frontline services and our much valued online information service, and the Covid-19 crisis has decimated our income at a time when we raise millions of pounds through our Great Daffodil Appeal and other events, which require social contact.
“We are all in this crisis together and Marie Curie, as the UK’s leading end of life care charity, is every day and night already deploying its frontline services and considerable end of life and bereavement expertise to support the nation through this difficult period. We are fully committed to continuing to provide compassionate care to many more dying patients, serve the public, and support the NHS.
“Marie Curie is as ever getting behind the nation – and we are very grateful that the nation is now getting behind us.
“We want to ensure the same support is available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland so that we can continue to deliver essential frontline services to support the NHS and dying people everywhere.”
Gary Powell's partner Tina was diagnosed with breast cancer and was supported by the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford, throughout the final years of her life. She died at home on 12 February 2020, aged 54.
Gary said: “I think it’s great that charities like Marie Curie are being given some support. Marie Curie are on the front-line of this crisis and are needed more than ever. I can’t imagine how we would have coped if they weren’t there for us when my partner Tina had terminal cancer. The Marie Curie doctors and nurses gave us the most wonderful care, compassion and expertise, so that Tina and I could make the most of the time we had.”