We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our local community, individuals, businesses, organisations and groups in supporting our NHS staff throughout this pandemic. The 10 weeks of 'Clap for Carers' on a Thursday evening at 8pm was touching and humbling for all NHS staff and other key workers.

NHS Charities Together

Not only have people supported us through our own charity appeal and with gifts-in-kind they have also supported NHS Charities Together through their national fundraising campaign, of which we are a member organisation. We are delighted to say that to date we have received over £250,000 from their Covid-19 Appeal. We are extremely grateful for this support.

Our most recent grant was £77,000 as part of NHSCT Stage 3 grant programme to support staff well-being and recovery. For this we are using the money to:

• introduce a Staff Wellbeing App
• Support a cohort of staff to improve their health including making lifestyle changes to reverse type 2 diabetes
• Support the creation of a permanent indoor wellbeing space to rest and recover.

A previous donation as part of Stage 1 grant round was £50,000 is being used to support our Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff and colleagues as these communities appear to be disproportionately effected by Covid-19. 

£2,000 to provide Vitamin D tablets free to our BAME colleagues. The evidence for a link between Vitamin D deficiency and susceptibility to Covid is subjective, but many of our BAME colleagues have been taking Vitamin D. As a Trust we think this is an important gesture of support whilst so much is still unknown about the disease.

£33,000 to kick start a series of small research projects linked to the intention to benefit patients and staff affected in any way by Covid 19 with a focus on individuals from BAME groups. There is an expectation of publication/presentation/tangible gain from each project.

£15,000 to support our newly formed Sickle Cell Parents Support Group run by our Children's Resources Centre and a parent lead. Sickle Cell is a blood disease that in the UK primarily affects African or Caribbean family background, and this funding will allow us to support parents and their children through this group, help raise awareness of the disease, and purchase technologies to loan out to sickle cell children to access remote learning as many young patients miss a lot of school due to time spent in hospital or at home in painful crisis episodes and recovery. Missing so much formal education can reduce their opportunities to succeed in life.

Other purchases to support patients and staff during Covid:

Outside Well-Being Space

Thanks to kind donations we have been able to create an outside Well-Being space for our staff to take their breaks in to enjoy the warmer weather.

Refreshments have been donated and purchased to ensure staff can keep hydrated and fueled during their long shifts.

Refurbishment of Bereavement Suite

We received a generous donation from Tibra Capital Foundation to refurbish our out dated and scruffy Bereavement Suite. The room has been used more frequently to accommodate family members who were unable to be by the side of their loved ones during restricted visiting.

     

Pictured: Before                                                          Pictured: After with new floor, paint and furniture. Waiting for lamp.

Keepsake Boxes

We have worked closely with ITU and our Palliative Care Team to fund and Memory Boxes for loved-ones who sadly pass away from Covid. This has included a hand print, poem, lock of hair, personal items and our lovely Celebrate a Life stars.

Improving staff rest areas across the Trust

We are supporting the upgrade of staff areas across the Trust as not all members of staff can access the Well-Being spaces that have been created. This way every staff member will have access to a comfy rest area to take their breaks. We are delighted to have received a grant from Barclays' COVID-19 Community Aid Package to support this project.

This list is not exhaustive and we will continue to update this page as often as we can.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported our Charity.