BHF comment
Our Chief Executive: Our unwavering support for you through this crisis
At the beginning of last month, our 750 British Heart Foundation (BHF) shops and stores were open as normal, hundreds of fundraising events were in the calendar, and scientists were continuing our life saving research into heart and circulatory diseases, such as heart attack and stroke.
So much has changed in such a short space of time. We have had to close our chain of charity shops, which raise over £20 million for our research programmes and patient support services each year. The majority of our fundraising events have been cancelled, including our iconic London to Brighton bike ride in June. And for the first time in our history, all office-based colleagues are working remotely from living rooms and kitchen tables as we all do our utmost to stop the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Everything we do is driven by our mission to continue helping and supporting all those living with heart and circulatory diseases in the UK. People with these conditions have been identified as being at higher risk of complications from Covid-19 if they contract the virus, so it is more important than ever that we can provide them with trusted information and guidance.
Playing our part
In response, our team of cardiac nurses and dietitians have been taking more than double the number of usual calls on our Heart Helpline. Their reassurance and support for people who have questions about how to manage their condition during this period of social distancing is a vital service. Meanwhile, more than half a million people have visited our coronavirus website content, which provides health information based on the latest evidence as well as inspiration on how to keep healthy when staying indoors.
We’re also playing our part in the national effort to stop the spread of Covid-19. We’ve put measures in place to support our team of dedicated researchers to work on studies looking at the virus. Plans have also been drawn up to redeploy some of our healthcare professionals to the NHS frontline, if required.
There is no doubt this pandemic will test us like never before. Many of our supporters have generously asked how they can continue supporting us, and we are gratefully receiving donations from those able to give what they can. However, we predict the impact of the pandemic will cost us around £10 million each month. To continue our work to help and support the 7.4 million people living with and heart and circulatory diseases in the UK, we must do what we can to limit this financial impact, and this has led to some difficult decisions.
Paid leave for retail colleagues
The closure of our shops is preventing our dedicated team of 20,000 volunteers and retail colleagues from carrying out their work. To further protect our income and our charitable activities, we’ve asked 3,000 of our retail colleagues to take a period of paid leave under the Government’s new Job Retention Scheme, retrospectively effective from March 23 until May 1. During this period, all furloughed employees – the term used to describe this measure - will continue to be paid their full salary, with the BHF able to claim 80 per cent of this back through the Government’s scheme.
I personally want to thank every person involved in the running of our shops and stores for their service during this unsettling time, including through our recent closures. It is their tireless commitment that ensures we can save and improve so many lives each year, and rest assured that we are doing all we can to go back to business as usual, as soon as possible.
We will continue to review the needs of the charity for the duration of this pandemic. That is why we will consider furloughing further roles further down the line if we think it’s necessary for our financial sustainability.
These last few weeks have forced us all to find a new normal, but it has never been clearer to me that what we do at the BHF is more important than ever. We may have swapped desks for coffee tables and armchairs, yet what remains is our unwavering support for everyone affected by heart and circulatory diseases. They are our priority, and will continue to be, long after these unprecedented times have passed.