Business as (new) normal

In recent weeks, COVID-19 has impacted severely on all our lives, and Blesma and its Members are certainly no exception. The Association has faced many challenges in its 100-year history, but the coronavirus pandemic is unique.

Blesma has continued to support Members and their families in this period, with an even greater emphasis on tackling loneliness and isolation. As a matter of course, the team based in Chelmsford regularly updates a risk register for the Board of Trustees, which includes the Association’s planned responses to all manner of significant events. Front and centre of the Association’s thinking from the very beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Blesma’s Operations Director Ian Waller, were its Members.

“We knew it would be difficult to reach everybody but we wanted to try to contact the entire membership as soon as possible,” said Ian. “We phoned and wrote to Members, prioritising those deemed vulnerable or who needed to be shielded. Most were ok, but some weren’t, and the Support and Outreach Officers responded to a number of requests for assistance. We wanted to ensure that our Members felt reassured that the Association was there to support them during the crisis.

In the first 10 weeks of lockdown, we had 5,703 ‘contacts’ with Members, including 3,390 by phone.

Blesma began 2020 in a sound financial position, and strong reserves have allowed the Association to function despite the harsh economic affects of the pandemic. “Straight away, through running various cash flow projection scenarios, we were confident we had enough funds to continue to operate,” said Ian.

"We phoned and wrote to Members, prioritising those deemed vulnerable or who needed to be shielded."

Ian Waller, Blesma Operations Director

The next step was to transition staff to working from home. “We were already in the process of an IT migration programme that would enable staff to work from anywhere,” said Ian. “We quickly provided staff with what they needed, and those who couldn’t work – our face-to-face activities had to stop in line with government guidelines, for example, while corporate and community fundraising came to a direct halt – were furloughed. However, we are bringing those members of staff back to work in the coming weeks.”

The Association’s financial assistance and grant giving continued to operate. For the two months from the end of March, Blesma awarded 219 grants to 189 Members for items ranging from mobility aids to living expenses. A number of Digital Inclusion grants provided Members with tablets and laptops to stay in touch with loved ones.

“Members have not been able to meet in person – which is one of the cornerstones of Blesma membership – but we quickly established a range of online activities, from fitness classes to book clubs, that brought people together,” said Ian.

“We have also been liaising with the NHS and other service providers to ensure our Members are supported with their health and prosthetic needs,” said Ian. “Many NHS staff were redirected to support the COVID-19 response, so we are expecting something of a bow wave when it comes to prosthetics provision in the coming months, and we will continue to advise our Members accordingly.”

"Blesma is in good shape. We are in a robust financial position, we continue to foster links across the Association, and we aim to come out of the crisis with an offer that is even broader than was the case pre-lockdown."

“Our focus now is on preparing to start visiting Members, but this will be done very carefully and slowly as we follow government guidelines. We like to think we know our Members and that they know us, and through good and bad times we will continue to be there to help ensure they have independent and fulfilled lives well into the future.”

If you have been affected by COVID-19 and would like to talk to someone, please call your BSO or email info@blesma.org