MSP praises Marie Curie for their efforts
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A north-east MSP has praised the continued work of Marie Curie after new figures showed more than 1,600 people attending hospitals across the north-east region have been helped by the charity in the last year.
The organisation revealed it supported 1,619 people in 7,243 visits in NHS Grampian.
Almost 8,000 of the 10,530 people who died in the north-east have a palliative care need.
More than 92 percent of those supported by Marie Curie died in their place of choice in 2019/20.
The charity has said it needs to raise £250,000 per week to support its services across Scotland.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Alexander Burnett, called on the Scottish Government to provide more support for charities like Marie Curie through the pandemic.
He said: “Marie Curie services have been on the frontline throughout Covid-19 delivering physical and emotional care in its hospices and patients’ homes as well as bereavement support.
“The charity has helped those affected by terminal illness in these unprecedented times to continue to receive the appropriate level of care they need.
“Throughout the pandemic, charities like Marie Curie have also been hit hard by a substantial reduction in income while continuing to provide invaluable help to those who need it most.
“I want to commend the charity’s work and I hope the Scottish Government will join my calls for more support to be given to these organisations.”
A charity spokeswoman said: “Our teams have ensured those affected by terminal illness in these unprecedented times have continued to receive the palliative and end of life care support they need; no-one has died alone.
“While our services have innovated and adapted to current circumstances, the pandemic has decimated our income.
“We need to raise £250,000 per week to support our services in Scotland which has been significantly impacted by the majority of our fundraising activity grounding to a halt.”
