A YORK hospice has given a £500 bonus to all of its staff to thank them for going 'above and beyond' during the Covid pandemic.

St Leonard’s Hospice in Tadcaster Road, which provides specialist palliative care and support for local people with life limiting illnesses, said the £500 bonus went to about 200 people.

It said a £350 bonus was also given to a group of bank workers who provided vital help at key points throughout the pandemic.

A spokeswoman said that all of the hospice's teams had worked 'tirelessly' through the pandemic.

"We were faced with daily challenges, which included protecting our patients, ourselves, families, volunteers and supporters from the unknown," she said.

"The passion and drive to continue to serve our community in need of end of life care was always the focus.

"Staff worked flexibly and collaboratively to meet increased service demands, whilst managing the struggles of everyday life that the pandemic enforced on the world, always striving to achieve their best and support those who needed us most."

She added that the bonuses were in line with what hospitals and other hospices had been giving, as they had been recognising how people had 'gone above and beyond' during Covid.

The hospice has been been providing care and support for the local community for the past 35 years, during which time it has developed new ways to care and support terminally ill people, those with life limiting conditions, and their families and carers.

The Press reported last September how it had had to cut the number of inpatients it cared for in the wake of staff shortages - while caring for more people in their own homes.

The hospice said it was experiencing shortages due to a mix of sickness, maternity leave and ongoing vacancies linked to difficulties in recruitment, and such difficulties were consistent with other healthcare organisations, both locally and nationally.

A spokeswoman said then that before the pandemic, the hospice cared for a maximum of 20 inpatients at any one time, but the maximum then was five patients, although the intention was to return to a maximum of 20 again when the pandemic was over.

It had also built resilience in its community teams so it could care for more people in their home, with 30 per cent more patients being cared for through the Hospice@Home team than in previous years.

She said other teams in the hospice, including its family therapy, therapy and medical teams, had also adapted their ways of working to include community based care in people’s homes, so it was more responsive to changing patient needs.