Coronavirus advice

Last updated: 1st September 2020

Since receiving news of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we have followed all UK Government and Public Health England guidelines and best practice to ensure everyone at the Hospice and across our other sites are protected as much as possible.

Our main priority will always be keeping our patients, their relatives, friends, our staff, volunteers and the wider community safe.

To do this, and with immediate effect, we are putting some additional measures in place.

Please note: In order to keep patients, staff and visitors safe the following restrictions now apply. We will continue to monitor the situation and update this information on a regular basis in accordance with local and national guidance.

Information for patients and families

Many of our normal services are being suspended, please see below for information on what services we will be delivering:

· We will continue to operate our 31-bed Ward, but with restrictions on visitors (please see ‘Information for visitors’ below)

· We will offer over-the-phone or video Counselling sessions, instead of these taking place at the Hospice.

· We will offer over-the-phone support and advice to our Day Therapy patients, instead of bringing patients and family members into the Hospice. We’ll phone all new referrals and current patients.

· We are now offering Day Therapy virtual sessions for chat and conversation, with a different theme each day. These sessions are also open to those who were attending our well-being drop-in on Tuesdays.

· All Lymphoedema and Outpatient appointments will be assessed by the appropriate clinician to identify individual patient’s needs and a member of staff will then call you to discuss the options and if you need to be seen this will be either via video link or at the hospice.

· We will offer over-the-phone Home Visiting service support, instead of a member of the team or a volunteer visiting you in your home.

· Our Community Nurse Specialist team will contact you prior to visiting, and will provide advice over the phone and if you need to be seen this will be via video link or in your homes as required.

Information for visitors

A COVID-safe environment and one-way system

The Hospice continues to review the latest guidance and practices available to ensure a COVID-safe environment for everyone.

If you are visiting a patient on our Ward (please see the restrictions below), please note that we are operating a one-way system within the Hospice. This is to minimise the number of people passing each other (face to face) in corridors.

Please can all visitors take note of the signage and floor markers which will indicate the direction of travel and please keep to the left if you are using the small section of two-way corridor.

Visiting patients on the Ward

As you will be aware the UK Government is continuing initiatives to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the UK. They are still encouraging people to stay at home where possible and practice ‘social distancing' to help ensure that the most vulnerable people in our society are protected as much as possible from the virus. In healthcare environments restrictions to visiting remain in place, and we continue to follow these also.

Please note: In light of the recent government announcement that Leicester and some surrounding areas have been put under a local lockdown due to a rise in COVID-19 cases over recent weeks, we have reviewed visiting times on the ward.

We appreciate that this is very difficult for patients and their families but they remain in place to protect loved ones from the consequence of this potentially life threatening virus.

Visits to patients on the Ward

For patients that are not suspected of having Coronavirus, as they are not displaying any symptoms of the disease, visiting is limited to up to two people, for one and a half hours per day. Please note, the two people must visit the patient together (i.e. there can only be one visit to the patient a day). This can be different people each day, but both visitors must come together and is restricted to immediate family only, ideally from the same household.

At other times virtual visiting should be encouraged.

For patients that have confirmed Coronavirus, or are displaying symptoms and are therefore suspected of having it, visiting is limited to one person, for one visit in the last days of life. This is restricted to immediate family only.

At other times virtual visiting should be encouraged.

Visitors to all patients

All visitors will be asked to wear the relevant personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout their visit for their own and others safety.

You will be advised on this when you arrive, but everyone will be asked to wear a surgical face mask and gloves.

We acknowledge that these restrictions are severe and we can only apologise for any distress this causes to patients, families and friends.

We must however stress the importance of everyone adhering to these requirements to help us to keep our patients safe and also help protect the staff caring for them.

If you have any concerns, please raise these with a member of the Ward team.

Additionally, the following restrictions remain in place:

  • Those under 16, over 70, or anyone with a known underlying health problem should not come to the Hospice.

  • Anyone experiencing any symptoms of Coronavirus (e.g. high temperature, new continuous cough) or living with anyone with these symptoms must not come to the Hospice.

  • Visitors are only allowed to be in the patient's room and must not congregate in any other area of the Hospice.

  • All visitors must wash their hands on arrival and/or use the hand gels available on reception and at the entrance to the Ward.

  • All visitors must also practice the recommended safe distance of two metres between themselves, the person they are visiting, and the staff on the Ward.

  • All visitors that have travelled from outside the UK, or have returned from a holiday outside of the UK, must adhere to government guidelines with regards to self-isolation. Pease visit the UK Government website for up to date travel and self-isolation advice.

Support for relatives and Virtual Visiting

We recognise that these restrictions on visiting your loved ones during this time is upsetting and may cause some distress.

We would encourage where possible that you telephone, Skype or Facetime. We have equipment available on the ward that can be utilised if the patient does not have their own device. Staff can help patients to receive video calls if required.

It would be really helpful if you spoke to a staff member and a negotiated time could be agreed to facilitate this.

This guide will show you how to make a video call using a smartphone, or receive one using your computer - or help you explain how to do so to others. We think this is a great way for you to 'visit virtually' to keep in touch with loved ones and help keep everyone safe.

We are also happy for you to email your loved one using Ward1User@loros.co.uk

This inbox will be checked twice a day; the message will be printed and personally given and/or read out to your relative. If a reply is requested we will help with this. Please remember that messages will be accessed and read by our staff, and it is not a private inbox.

If you feel that it would be helpful to receive some extra support during this challenging time, please talk to one of our ward nurses who can make a referral on your behalf to either a member of our counselling team or chaplaincy team.

Thank you for your support and understanding during a very challenging time for all of us.

Visiting the Hospice chapel and Memory Tree

We know that families and friends find comfort in coming to the Hospice to visit the chapel and/or the Memory Tree to remember their loved one.

In normal circumstances we would welcome this, and hope that this will be possible again soon. The current Coronavirus pandemic means that unfortunately we are unable to allow these visits at this time. We are trying to reduce the number of people visiting the Hospice to help keep our patients and staff safe.

We have been helping to keep families in touch with the Hospice by sending them photos of their leaf to mark special occasions and are in the process of developing a number of initiatives, to help you keep in touch as much as possible during these challenging times. We hope you understand the reason for our current restrictions and we look forward to seeing you back at the Hospice when it is safe to do so.

Visiting for meetings

Please do not visit the Hospice, or any of our sites for pre-arranged meetings. These are in the process of being cancelled, or facilitated over the phone.

Visiting for education and training events

We have made the decision to postpone all non-essential face-to-face training programmes and events. We are exploring options where possible to deliver training virtually and will communicate these options with you as soon as possible. If you have any queries relating to your booking please email lpdc@loros.co.uk

Information for people wanting to make monetary donations at the Hospice

Now, more than ever before, we need the help and support of our community so that we can continue to provide vital care to our patients, and support their friends and relatives. Please can we encourage you to make all your monetary donations online at loros.co.uk/donate

Thank you for your support.

Information for ALL visitors

In addition to the above, please do not come to the Hospice if

  • you have travelled from outside the UK, or have returned from a holiday outside of the UK, from a country where self-isolation is required and until your 14 days have passed. Pease visit the UK Government website for up to date travel and self-isolation advice.
  • you have been in contact with someone with a confirmed case of coronavirus.
  • you are concerned you have any of the symptoms.

What are the symptoms?

  • a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
  • a new, continuous cough - this means you've started coughing repeatedly
  • loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

If you are displaying any of these symptoms, you should stay at home for 7 days.
If you live with other people, they should stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person got symptoms.
This will help to protect us, and others in your community while you are infectious.

Please visit the NHS website for the latest information.

Information for LOROS volunteers

If you are a LOROS volunteer who is 70 years of age or over, or have an underlying health condition, please do not come into the Hospice or your site of volunteering (shop, warehouse etc.). Your Volunteer Coordinator/Manager is aware of this restriction and is not expecting to see you.

Information for fundraising event attendees

Latest published advice has strongly advised against mass public gatherings, for a period of weeks or possibly months.

While there is no end date to this advice, the position of the Government is that emergency services will not support large events.

As many of our supporters will know, the fundraising work we do helps ensure that our patients and their families can receive the care they need, free of charge, at the time they most need it. A big part of this comes from people taking part in our events and the sponsorship they raise at our large scale events.

We are currently in the process of finding alternatives for some of our upcoming LOROS events and will be updating participants about the those events concerned by the end of this week.

Please check the relevant event page for more information. We thank you for your patience and understanding at this time

We recognise how much these events mean to you; from every £1 you’ve raised in sponsorship, through to the weeks and months of training you have committed. These events and the valuable funds they raise are equally as important to the team here at LOROS.

We rely on our community to help us raise over £6 million every year.

Now more than ever before we need the help and support of our community so we can continue to provide the vital care to our patients, and support their friends and relatives.

Please bear with us for the next couple of days while we consider the impact of this latest advice and look at ways we can continue to be there for you and your family, in what are difficult and uncertain times for us all.

Thank you for your patience, support and understanding, we will be in touch with further updates as things develop.

Information about LOROS shops, accepting donated items and our collection service

All our shops are now open, except our Wigston shop. Opening hours and days may change at short notice so please check with the individual shop. You can find contact information for our shops here.

Some of our shops are accepting donations but again, please check with the individual shop before bringing your items. (We have to store items for 72 hours which means we can rapidly run out of space and when this happens we have to stop accepting donations at short notice). Your donations are hugely important to us and we apologise for any inconvenience this causes.

To find the location of our shops and warehouses visit loros.co.uk/our-shops

Sorry for any inconvenience caused - we'll keep you updated as soon as guidance changes.

Our shops may be running in a limited capacity, but you can still shop with us online:

  • You can continue to support our work and shop 24 hours a day, from a great selection of donated items through our eBay shop
  • Or you can simply switch to AmazonSmile and support us while to shop on Amazon.

Thank you for your loyal custom and we look forward to welcoming you back into our shops when the time is right.

Information about the LOROS Lottery

To all of our supporters who play our weekly lottery, thank you. We’re working hard to ensure that the weekly draw continues.

Your support is vital, now more than ever before! We must ensure that we continue to provide patient care and family support, during these difficult and unprecedented times. Our patients still need us.

From July, we’ll be reinstating some of our cash rounds. Due to the recent government announcement with regards to the localised lockdown in Leicester and the surrounding areas we must suspend cash collections once again within those areas. If you are a cash player, you should have received a letter regarding collections in your area and will be sent a further letter if you are now affected by the lockdown. Due to collector or member of their household shielding it may not be possible to reinstate all cash rounds at this time. This will be reviewed again in September. If you’d like to play and pay another way, why not give us a call on (0116) 231 8430 or sign up online.

Please note, the Lottery Office will remain open, but with limited staff, during this time of uncertainty. If we are forced to close, then the answerphone will be on for messages to be left. These messages will be picked up periodically. You can e-mail us at lottery@loros.co.uk, this will also be monitored during office hours.

Thank you for your ongoing support in these difficult times. We endeavour to make informed decisions based on official guidance and advice given by the Government. It is our priority to continue to provide a service, and keep us all safe. Please do not hesitate to contact the Lottery team if you have any queries.

For more information

It is important that we take all reasonable steps to protect those using our services, as well as those working and volunteering across all of our sites. For further information on coronavirus, please visit:
The gov.uk website
The NHS website



We will continue to monitor the situation daily and will always put the safety of our patients, their relatives, friends, our staff, volunteers and the wider community first.