COVID-19 and Richard House Children’s Hospice An update from our Chief Executive, Chris Baker During this time of uncertainty, we hope you are all safe and well. At Richard House, ensuring the safety of our children, families, staff and volunteers is a top priority, with the current spread of Covid-19. Rest assured we are monitoring the situation continuously with guidance from Public Health England, the UK Government, NHS England and the World Health Organisation. Please find information regarding the measures we are taking to safeguard you all and the Richard House family: The hospice Whilst we continue to provide planned services including end-of-life care and emergency respite, our internal events for children and families and groups have been postponed. Only supported families and essential staff which include our care team, are permitted into the hospice, once strict hand hygiene rules outlined by Public Health England, have been followed and hand sanitiser has been used. With guidance from NHS England, anyone planning to visit the hospice is asked to sign a declaration confirming they are not at high risk of carrying coronavirus into the hospice. We have posters and notices at entrances and around the hospice reminding everyone to maintain good hand hygiene. Extra vigilance and additional care is being taken with housekeeping, ensuring that frequently touched surfaces are thoroughly disinfected, often. Fundraising and our shopsRichard House offers a lifeline service to over 300 children and their family members in a world where isolation and being a carer 24 hours a day, is the norm. We are monitoring the situation closely particularly with postponed challenge events, and will keep everyone who has signed up to participate in one updated. With the postponement of key fundraising activities both locally and nationally, Richard House is facing additional challenges due to the uncertainty and unavailability of received funds at this moment in time. Therefore, any support we receive is vital to keep our services running. It will make the world of a difference in an everchanging world, to a seriously ill child. Please support our emergency appeal today, herehttps://richardhouse.org.uk/urgent-appeal-covid-19. In keeping with UK government guidance, we have closed our charity shops temporarily. Your donations go a long way in supporting seriously ill children and families. We kindly ask you keep hold of any items until we are able to receive them. Thank you for your support, Chris Baker