Strathcarron Hospice have become the latest big winners from Scotmid’s Community Connect initiative – being awarded £15,000 to help improve the invaluable service they provide for people across Forth Valley and North Lanarkshire areas.
Scotmid members collected votes by swiping their Community Connect card in-store and then voted for their favourite good cause group.
The Community Connect funding will be used to purchase new laptops so Clinical Nurse specialists can access and update patient information in real-time when they are caring for people in their own homes.
Strathcarron Hospice Trust Fundraiser Lee Deane said: “Strathcarron Hospice are delighted to receive £15000 from Scotmid’s Community Connect. This generous support will be used to buy nine new laptops for our Community Clinical Nurse Specialists.
“This vital team of nurses visits people in their homes once they have received a life limiting diagnosis. They listen to people’s concerns and answer questions about their conditions; they will also arrange for any equipment or medications to help make people more comfortable.
“During this meeting, they cover many topics that may not have been discussed in other meetings with healthcare professionals; like what is important, what goals people might have and what they can expect to happen next. This meeting will last as long as it needs to and it is not rushed.
“These new laptops will help the Nurses have improved access to patient records, action any agreed next steps (changes to medication, getting safety equipment installed), make referrals to other support services, arrange other specialist appointments or a visit from family support. The updated equipment will make this work must faster and more efficient; making a huge difference to the people that we support and our nursing staff.
Since the initiative launched in 2107, Scotmid and has awarded over £300,000 to help support charities, community projects and good cause groups right across Scotland. The other Community Connect award winners were The Haven, Blantyre and Ronald McDonald House Glasgow, who both received £5,000.
Scotmid President Harry Cairney said: “Congratulations to Strathcarron Hospice and all the latest Community Connect award winners.
“This was our fourth Community Connect awards in Scotmid’s West Region and, once again, the vote was close, so thanks to all our members who helped to determine the outcome.
“Our core purpose is to serve our local communities and improve people’s everyday lives and Community Connect goes towards enabling us to achieve those goals.
“We very much look forward to seeing all these projects come to life and working together to improve the quality of life for people in our local communities.”
The short-listed Good Cause Groups for the next cycle of Community Connect funding will be announced next week and the award winners will be announced at Scotmid’s Annual General Meeting in April.
Image (left to right): Scotmid President Harry Cairney, Strathcarron Hospice Trust Fundraiser Lee Deane, Strathcarron Hospice CEO Irene McKie and Scotmid Secretary John Dalley.