To mark the anniversary of the first national coronavirus lockdown on 23 March 2021, Derian House, together with other Greater Manchester Hospices, is supporting the National Day of Reflection.
The National Day of Reflection has been organised by end-of-life charity Marie Curie, to remember those who have died during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Marie Curie chief executive, Matthew Reed, said: “It is important that we all come together to reflect on our collective loss, celebrate the lives of the special people no longer here, support those who’ve been bereaved and look towards a much brighter future.”
As we come together to remember those who have lost their lives to the pandemic, our thoughts are also with the families, friends and loved ones whose lives have been forever affected by the events of the past year.
Whilst we are reflecting, we would like to thank the local community for their continued support and for responding so generously to our requests for much needed items during lockdown.
The anniversary also presents the opportunity to applaud the efforts of the key workers and in particular, the amazing team at Derian House.
Our staff have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and our services were adapted to ensure that we continued to offer high-quality care to more than 400 seriously ill children and young people from across the North West.
Some of the ways in which we did this was by delivering care packages to our families and by offering online support groups. The Derian at Home service, which takes Derian’s expert knowledge, skills and support into the community, has also been a lifeline for our families when they needed us most.
David Robinson, CEO of Derian House Children’s Hospice said: “It is difficult to believe how everything changed a year ago today, so much uncertainty and fear and this was especially true for the children, young people and families who use Derian House. It moves me every day to see the strength and resilience of those families through such a difficult time and also the whole team at Derian who have been here every single day throughout the pandemic.”
We are looking forward to being able to welcome more children and young people back to the hospice in the near future but until then we will continue to do whatever it takes in order to be there for our families, and for each other.
