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9th April 2020

Charities still at serious risk despite latest pledge of support

View all Coronavirus

Chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Paula Chadwick, responds to the Government’s announcement regarding funding for the Charity sector during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Like so many organisations and businesses across the UK, we are facing an extraordinary threat to our charity. Income has been decimated. We have had to furlough around 50 per cent of our staff, with those remaining pulling together to ensure we can meet the increased demand for our services.

Earlier in the week, we urged the Government to act quickly and provide emergency financial support for the charity sector. Whilst we welcome yesterday’s £750 million pledge for frontline charities by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, we know this by no means resolves the situation and we do not want our supporters, many of whom have already stepped forward and showed their support, to believe everything is now fine and charities are safe. This is far from the truth.

It is estimated that the charity sector is set to lose £4 billion over the next three months, so this funding is not nearly enough to support so many vital charities, all of whom are providing essential care and support to some of the most vulnerable in these unparalleled times.

As the only UK charity to support all those affected by lung cancer, our support network is a lifeline to many people living with the disease, particularly at the moment.

Those with lung cancer are clearly one of the most ‘vulnerable’ groups of people and are at risk to serious illness if they contract coronavirus. In addition to this, many are faced with the very realistic prospect that their treatment may be postponed. This is understandably creating high levels anxiety and worry.

As a result, calls to our Ask the nurse service have increased by 56% whilst our latest service – our Keep in Touch Support Service – is ensuring the most socially isolated are not overlooked, or forgotten.

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is therefore standing shoulder to shoulder with the entire charity sector and calling for much more funding to ensure we can all continue to support our communities in these unprecedented times and beyond.”