Covid-19 updates
Throughout the pandemic we have been working hard to continue providing round the clock care for patients and their loved ones.
Some of our services have been adapted and our fundraising activities have been affected, but thanks to the commitment of our staff and the incredible support of our volunteers and members of our communities, we are still here for local people affected by life-shortening conditions, providing our specialist end-of-life and palliative care at the hospice and in patients’ own homes.
Here are the latest updates about our services, visiting the hospice, shops and The Mill café, and more:
- Visiting arrangements – Visiting is temporarily suspended on the inpatient unit and can only be accommodated for patients at the end of life. Staff are working with patients and families on an individual basis. We understand that spending time with family and friends means so much, especially during difficult times, and our aim is to help our patients and their loved ones to experience the best possible quality of life and achieve what is important to them, whilst we must also prioritise the safety of everyone.
- At the hospice, we are keeping the inpatient unit team separate from those working in the rest of the building, and all of the necessary safety measures – including the use of PPE – is in place across the hospice for patients, staff and visitors.
- Foreign Travel – Patients’ loved ones who have been in countries not on the UK’s travel corridors list will not be allowed to visit St Catherine’s within 14 days of returning to the UK, and should be observing the 14-day isolation period as required by law. You can find the most up to date list of countries where 14-day isolation is not required here. Although we acknowledge it unlikely a patient referred into hospice services has been on recent foreign travel, new patients and their household will be asked to declare any recent trips abroad as part of the admission/referral process to ensure the correct safety arrangements are put in place.
- Our Clinical Nurse Specialists continue to care for people in their own homes across Central Lancashire, and our lymphoedema nurses continue to provide treatment at the Woodside Clinic, with additional safety procedures in place.
- Our support services are being carried out remotely, such as bereavement, carer, and befriending support.
- Our Specialist Palliative Care Advice Line has been enhanced, allowing healthcare professionals to speak with our medical team 24 hours a day, and we’re offering virtual training from our Learning Zone to share our knowledge and skills with other healthcare providers during this time.
- For the time being and in line with Government decisions, The Mill café remains closed, and we are operating a Click & Collect service.
Ways you can show your support for St Catherine’s during the winter months include joining our lottery, making a one-off or regular donation, visiting our online shop which sells gift vouchers and more, visiting our eBay page, or ordering from The Mill’s Click and Collect service. You could also make a Light Up A Life dedication. Click here to see details about which of our charity shops are back open, and when and where we are able to accept your generous shop donations at this time.
- Please, click here to read St Catherine’s ‘Staying safe statement’ document. Please click here for the latest UK Government guidance and updates; here for the latest updates from Lancashire; and here for South Ribble

Our Covid privacy notice
Covid-19 and your information
This Privacy Notice explains how St Catherine’s (Lancashire) Ltd, and our affiliated trading company St Catherine’s Trading, our lottery company St Catherine’s Promotions and The Mill (St Catherine’s Social Enterprise) will use your personal data in order to meet the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Herein’ referred to as St Catherine’s.
Please read this privacy notice together with St Catherine’s general privacy statement here which contains more detailed information about our data processing.
St Catherine’s has decided to collect and keep a limited record of staff, patients and visitors who come onto our premises for the purpose of contact tracing. By maintaining records of staff, patients and visitors and sharing these with NHS Test and Trace where requested, we can help to identify people who may have been exposed to the Coronavirus.
NHS Test and Trace is part of the Department for Health and Social Care, in England
If you would like more information on the Government Track and Trace service, please click here.
Our legal basis for processing your information
We use your personal data in line with the rules set out in the General Data Protection Regulations Article 6 (1) (e) – public task.
What information do we collect?
As a visitor to St Catherine’s, you will be asked to provide some basic contact details. The following information will be collected:
• The names of all visitors, or if it is a group of people, the name of one member of the group.
• A contact phone number or email address for each visitor, or one member of a group of people.
• Date of visit and arrival and departure time.How and why we ask you to share your personal information
We collect and process information, including personal information, to enable contacts of known COVID-19 sufferers to be identified, contacted and an assessment of their risk of catching COVID-19 be made and advice provided to those at high risk..
Consent
If you do not wish your contact information to be passed to NHS Test and Trace if requested, please speak to a member of staff.
Who we share your personal data with
We will only share information with NHS Test and Trace if it is specifically requested by them. For example, if another visitor or member of staff at the hospice reported symptoms and subsequently tested positive, NHS Test and Trace can request a log of visitors details for a particular time period (e.g. this may be all who visited on a particular day or time-band, over a two-day period).
NHS Test and Trace will not disclose this information to any third party unless required to do so by law (e.g. as a result of receiving a court order).
How long do we keep your personal information?
NHS Test and Trace have asked us to retain this information for 21 days from the date of your visit, to enable con tact tracing to be carried out by NHS Test and Trace during that period.
However, the government guidance may also cover information that we should usually collect and hold onto as part of our ordinary dealings with you (e.g. your name and contact details). Where this is the case, this information only will continue to be held after 21 days and we will use it as we would usually, unless and until you tell us differently.
Your information will always be stored and used in compliance with the relevant data protection legislation.