Ezra Care is a community charity which has been operating in Manchester since 2005.

When Chas Vesholom serious illness strikes, there is often a desperate need for support and assistance, with patients and their families not knowing where to turn and feeling lost and worried. Ezra Care provides the vital services that are so crucial during those difficult times, whether it’s a chronic illness, a prolonged hospital stay or end-of–life care, Ezra Care is there for the patient and their family.

With a small staff of just 2 and over 240 volunteers, Ezra Care provides a range of targeted support services for patients and their families, with a particular emphasis on enhancing the hospital experience for both patients and their visitors and reducing in-patient stays through the provision of a wide range of services.

Our most well-known service is our Hospital Respite “Shabbos rooms” which we provide in 6 hospitals across Greater Manchester.

Our Shabbos rooms are stocked during the week with fresh sandwiches, milk and a range of Kosher food and are then transformed for Shabbos with literally anything a person could need for Shabbos Seudos. Our rooms have been described by users as “live saving” and “an oasis of calm and peace”.

We also provide the rooms with anything required on Yomim Tovim including putting up Sukkos in the hospital grounds.

Our other services include:

• Free loan of medical equipment so people can be discharged from hospital sooner and be comfortable in their own homes. Our equipment includes hospital type beds, lift recliners, wheelchairs, bathroom assistance and any equipment that a person may need. We very often support families who are hosting people from out of town with specific medical needs and who require a range of equipment to be able to visit their family.

• Our Hospital lift service which provides transport for people who need regular lifts to hospital either for frequent appointments or to visit patients who are unfortunately in hospital for long periods of time.
• Sharing the caring which is a team of trained volunteers who visit patients in hospitals and will give respite to family members who require the patient to have company or just provide a familiar face to alleviate the boredom and anxiousness of being in hospital.
• A patient transport ambulance service for those who require wheelchair transport. This is for all transport requests including social and Simchas and is especially needed when a patient requires special transport from hospital and doesn’t have to wait the 4 – 5 hours for statutory ambulance transport.
• Shabbos taxi service where people who require urgent Halachicley permitted transport on Shabbos can use our account and pay after Shabbos
• A signposting service with the NHS to support families who require carers in their own home to receive the correct support packages and funding for carers. This service also includes Ezra Care providing cultural awareness training to a wide range of NHS services, ensuring they understand the needs of the Kehilla.

We will also shortly be starting accommodation near 2 hospitals (The Central Hospital complex which includes St Marys, MRI and Children’s and the Christie hospital). This will allow family members to stay close to patients on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Our Christie accommodation will also be available for patients who have daily treatment and will save them the burden of having to travel home each day.

Ezra Care is fortunate to have the support of all the local GP’s and hospitals chaplaincy teams and we work closely with the Community to develop any services that people will require to help relieve them the burden of dealing with illness.

Our annual budget is over £150,000 and we are so grateful for the generous support we receive from the community which allows us to run all of our vital services.