About justvisiting - the sharing network for caring people
Supported by the NE Strategic Health Authority, Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust. Gateshead M.B.C. and the Big Lottery Fund's Awards for All,
Justvisiting CIC* is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to celebrate and support patient care and develop online communities to unite friends and family when it really matters.
Justvisiting.com is our FREE website which has been designed to support hospital patients and their families and save precious time for hospital staff. Best described as an online visiting room, it aims to establish a support network for patients and their families and friends to share information and well wishes, donate to charity, send flowers and much more.
It is completely secure and confidential as well as easy to use and easily accessible. A visitor to the site simply opens an online visiting room and invites friends and family to view regular bulletins and post their own messages of support between one another. Distance is no problem, even for friends and relatives overseas, and the room is open 24 hours a day, every day.
Many of us have experienced the type of problems faced by thousands of people every day when a relative is in hospital. As a result our members recognise the real advantages their online visiting room brings, be it in supporting carers and patients, saving precious time, reducing risk of infection, or providing an opportunity for loved ones to join a caring network when hospital visiting may prove difficult (due to critical care, patient privacy, distance, lack of mobility, family tensions, childcare issues, etc.).
We're always looking to improve the Justvisiting service so we're delighted to have the highly-regarded Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust working closely with the Justvisiting team to ensure we provide every possible benefit not only to patients and their families and friends but also to hospital staff. Ian Renwick, Chief Executive of the Trust, immediately recognised the potential of justvisiting.com to help both patients and staff and he has been keen to play an active role in our development, providing invaluable advice and support - so much so that he recently became a Patron of Justvisiting.
Other Patrons are author and broadcaster, Bill Bryson and former Chief Medical Officer and Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute, Professor Sir Kenneth Calman who recognised that "justvisiting.com provides a wonderful opportunity for carers to establish an invaluable support network......(it) can unite and empower carers and provide a supportive online community during times of concern and uncertainty".
The big news is the launch of the re-vamped, even easier-to-use site and we're sure our users will be bowled over by the new look. Apart from ease of use, they will find an array of new features to interest and inform. Other developments lined up include further improving accessibility, a multi-lingual facility, new gift shop and an all-new maternity section, the all-singing, all-dancing 'justvisitingbaby'. Yes, there's a lot going on at the moment.
Let's leave the last word to Prime Minister Gordon Brown after meeting Justvisiting Director Paul Smith recently:
'Justvisiting is a fantastic example of how small ideas can make a big difference'
With very best wishes from the Justvisiting team.
Last updated: 12.03.10
* Community Interest Companies (CICS) are limited companies, with special additional features, created for the use of people who want to conduct a business or other activity for community benefit, and not purely for private advantage. This is achieved by a "community interest test" and "asset lock", which ensure that the CIC is established for community purposes and the assets and profits are dedicated to these purposes. Registration of a company as a CIC has to be approved by the Regulator who also has a continuing monitoring and enforcement role.