IT has been caring for our armed forces veterans since it opened its doors as a dedicated hospital for the First World War wounded and was officially opened by Princess Louise in 1916.
And now more than 100 years on the charity, which has evolved and become known as Erskine, runs centres of excellence for the care of our veterans through its care homes, assisted living and activity centres.
A major development in the care for its veterans took a step forward when it was decided to appoint nurse practitioners at the site in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, with residents able to access tests which might otherwise have meant a trip to a hospital.
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Those appointments led to the charity being able to introduce a test which could potentially save lives and reduce the risk of serious infections that is now being used in the pioneering care of veterans.
For £5,600 a year the charity can carry out procalcitonin tests (PCT) which can lead to an early detection of illness and treatment for infections.
Erskine Home Senior Sporting Games event. Photo Jamie Williamson.
It is an initiative which Erskine put forward to be considered for The Herald’s Readers’ Choice Cash for Charities and led to the charity being selected as one of our eight finalists.
The Herald is giving charities the chance to take a share of a £125,000 cash giveaway. Our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation, is providing £125,000 in cash to support local charities across the country and we are delighted to have a £20,000 share to give away in Scotland.
The other seven finalists are Maggie’s Cancer Centres, Calum’s Cabin, Autism Rocks Fife, Beloved Rabbits, Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, Man on Inverclyde and Ardgowan Hospice.
We received hundreds of nominations from charities and their supporters following our call out for worthy causes to get in touch. We know it has been a tough year for charities during the pandemic with many having to adapt or change the way they work and we wanted to help play our part.
It was a difficult task to select eight charities, but now it is over to the readers to decide how much each charity should receive.
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Gareth Toner, trusts and foundations manager for Erskine, said: “The PCT testing project was introduced to our Homes in 2019 and is entirely funded by voluntary income. Erskine’s residents have an average age of 85 and over 60% receive specialist dementia care. PCT testing is hugely beneficial for our residents – via a small blood sample, our staff can test residents for high levels of procalcitonin which may indicate a bacterial infection. This leads to positive resident outcomes including earlier intervention for illnesses, more accurate infection diagnosis, better monitoring of antibiotic treatment and prevention of sepsis. It is fair to say that the test can be a life-saver.”
For every token that our readers collect it will go towards Erskine receiving a share of the £20,000 and to be able to carry out these life-saving tests in their Bishopton care home.
Discussing tactics at Erskine Home Senior Sporting Games.Photo by Jamie Williamson.
Ian Cumming MBE, chief executive of Erskine, said they were delighted to have been for the Cash for Charities campaign.
He said: “Our care homes provide outstanding care for elderly Veterans and spouses in a bright, warm environment which respects our charity’s proud military heritage. Our fantastic care and support staff are dedicated to ensuring our Veterans can enjoy the high quality of life that they all truly deserve.
The Herald readers’ support will help Erskine to fund vital new supplies of procalcitonin (PCT) testing equipment for our two care homes in Bishopton. This technology allows us to test residents for high levels of procalcitonin which can indicate a bacterial infection. This is hugely beneficial as our care staff can carry out earlier diagnoses and treatment for illnesses, ensuring our Veterans can maintain the best possible health despite their advanced age and often highly complex medical needs.
“I would like to sincerely thank your readers for their support and The Gannett Foundation for selecting Erskine and helping our Veterans during this challenging time for us all.”
Throughout November we are running tokens every day in The Herald and we asked YOU to decide where this money should be spent.
Now we are putting the power to allocate the cash back into the hands of our readers – during November, you are invited to collect tokens from our newspapers which can then be sent to collection points across our region or posted. Each token collected will then be used to allocate cash to the nominated charity – so if your favourite charity collects 50% of all to tokens collected, it will receive 50% of the £20,000.
All you need to do is drop your tokens in one of the special Cash for Charities boxes placed in various supermarkets and newsagents.
The tokens can also be posted to us at Herald Readers' Choice Cash for Charity, 125 Fullarton Drive, Cambuslang, Glasgow, G32 8FG with the closing date for delivery of tokens Sunday, November 28, 2021.
You can also drop off tokens at our Cambuslang site or our office at 194 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HG.
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