Thank you to everyone who took part in our ‘Covid-19 Heroes Campaign’. Amazingly, over 70 creative Covid-19 Heroes responded to our appeal to cut out and decorate a HealthBus Badge in such artistic ways! Thank you for sharing these amazing works of art on social media. YOU have helped us to raise awareness of people sleeping rough and also those who have been temporarily housed in emergency accommodation during this pandemic. We have loved [...]
At the end of March 2020, the Trustees took to the difficult decision to suspend operations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Sadly, we have not been able to have face to face contact with our homeless and rough sleeping patients. The current YMCA bus we hire is no longer adequate to see patients. During the past few months, the HealthBus GPs have been communicating with patients regularly providing a lifeline and helping to signpost [...]
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our launch event on 30 January. We raised nearly £4,000 (without including Gift Aid)! Since becoming a registered charity at the end of last year, we can now start fundraising and applying for grants. So we invited supporters old and new to an evening of music and a silent auction at St Stephen’s Church hall in central Bournemouth to celebrate our new status and kick-start our [...]
Today we met six year-old Zac Swift, our youngest donor so far! He visited the HealthBus with his older brother, Finn (aged nine), and his mum to hand over £100 to Dr Maggie Kirk and the team. Zac Swift and his brother Finn with the HealthBus team Zac raised the money by doing jobs around the house and selling old toys over the year. He'd decided to support a homeless charity after [...]
From today you might see two new faces at the HealthBus. A big 'thank you' to Public Health Dorset for providing a nurse and admin support each Thursday morning for winter immunisations. The nurse will be offering flu and pneumonia vaccinations to protect the homeless this winter.
It is with great pride and excitement that we now have a recognised charity status. This creates a huge opportunity for the HealthBus to develop further, allowing us to apply for grants and local funding to provide healthcare for rough sleepers across Bournemouth. Our registered charity number is: 1186790.
Swanky London hotels are not our usual Friday night hangout. But on 29 November, we had a very special reason to be at the glitzy Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel: Dr Maggie Kirk and the HealthBus team, were nominated for an award at the prestigious annual GP Awards in the category of Clinical Improvement: Public Health and Prevention. HealthBus volunteers at the GP Awards in London The awards ceremony took place during [...]