During this difficult time our thoughts are with those nursing and midwifery professionals who are under more strain than normal to deliver care during the coronavirus crisis. The effects of the illness and restrictions to stop its spread are already making a huge impact on the lives of staff.

This is why Cavell Nurses’ Trust has set aside additional funding for grants designed to help nursing and midwifery professionals support their living costs like rent and utility bills. We are a charity supporting UK nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, both working and retired, when they’re suffering personal or financial hardship often due to illness, disability, older age and domestic abuse.

The money is available to help people in the following situations, for example:

A nurse, midwife or HCA being unable to work because they need to isolate themselves. This may lead to financial crisis if they don’t have access to occupational sick pay or benefits, perhaps because they are an agency worker or self-employed. They may also lose access to overtime, bank shifts or other enhancements.

Also, a nurse, midwife or HCA who is facing financial hardship because their household or partner’s income has been affected due to Coronavirus, perhaps because they are self-employed or work in an industry adversely affected by Coronavirus.

John Orchard, Chief Executive at Cavell Nurses’ Trust said: “In the last week or so we’ve been contacted by multiple nursing and midwifery professionals who have been affected and we expect more. We desperately want to help as much as our funding will allow.

“As a society we rely on nurses, midwives and HCAs to be there for us and we should support them in return, especially in this the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

“More than three quarters of the nurses we support tell us we helped them get back to or stay in work.”

Nursing and midwifery staff can check their eligibility for the funding,

Find out more here