A brave group of NHS staff and supporters took to the skies over Bridlington this weekend for Bradford Hospitals’ Charity.
A total of 11 people jumped out of a plane to raise money for a range of appeals and projects across Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (BTHFT).
Laura Jones, lead cancer manager at BTHFT, took the plunge to raise money for the benefit of cancer services. Staff and patients are currently fundraising to refurbish the Oncology and Haematology Day Case Unit’s waiting room.
Charity funds were recently used to purchase two chemotherapy chairs, which are used by patients while undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
“I’ve worked for 10 years in cancer services for the Trust and I’ve constantly strived to improve patient care and experience,” said Laura.
“I know it’s often the additional extras that the charity funds which can make all the difference.
“I recently lost one of my closest friends to cancer and I know through that time it was the compassion, care and comfort that my friend and his family received that supported them through the journey. It is charity funds which enable our cancer teams to provide this.”
You can donate to Laura at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/laura-jones195
Sarah Hayton, of Skipton, is raising money for Bradford Hospitals’ Charity’s Big Neonatal Appeal.
Sarah’s son, Jack, was born very poorly and received treatment and care in Bradford’s Neonatal Unit last year before he sadly passed away.
Sarah and her husband Mark were so grateful for the kindness and compassion they received that they have pledged to raise money to help fund additional family accommodation to enable parents to stay close to their babies, like the facilities they benefited from.
Sarah said: “It was hard to believe that our beautiful baby boy, who seemed perfect to us, was going to be leaving us. All the staff at the BRI Neonatal Unit – doctors, nurses, receptionists, cleaners, ministers – continued to do their jobs with unwaning kindness and compassion. We could not have wished for better care, especially in such terrible circumstances.
“If anyone is unlucky enough that their baby has to go into a neonatal unit, they could not receive better care than at BRI. We will forever be grateful for the kindness and attention they showed Jack and our family.”
Sarah took part in the skydive with colleagues from David Hill chartered surveyors, where she works, and her husband’s colleagues from Bowman Riley.
You can support Sarah and her efforts to raise money for the Big Neonatal Appeal at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sarah-haytonskydive
Safina Aziz jumped out of a plane for Bradford Hospitals’ Charity because her daughter, Inaaya, receives regular care at Bradford Royal Infirmary for chronic inflammatory bowel disease, which is caused by a rare genetic disorder. As a result, she needs regular blood transfusions on the children’s day case unit.
Safina, who also represented the charity at the Bradford Dragon Boat Festival, said: “I have seen first-hand the work the charity does.
“The smile on the children’s faces when given gifts at Christmas and Eid makes a huge difference for them. The facilities in the play room and the equipment provided by the charity make the experience of being in hospital more bearable.”
You can support Safina at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/safina-aziz1
Radiographers Atique Hussain, Declan O’Hagan and Lucy Sagar represented the radiology department at the skydive, which is currently raising money for its ‘Rays a Smile’ appeal.
Lucy said: “We work in the basement of the hospital, so all our staff are really excited to make our department a much brighter, less scary space for children! I’m petrified but want to do this and help raise more money for our amazing radiology departments.”
Lucy’s Just Giving page is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lucy-sagar
Atique added that he was keen to raise money to enhance the hospital experience and make everything that bit more bearable for patients.
You can support Atique at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/atique-hussain4
Newly qualified nurse Jessica Smith celebrated the end of her nursing training at the skydive! She will be joined by her friend, Lydia Horsman.
She said: “The skydive is a great opportunity to raise money for the Trust and also a good way to celebrate finishing my training. I’ll be returning as a qualified nurse in September to work on Ward 15.
“This isn’t my first skydive, but I’m very much looking forward to doing this at Bridlington as the views will be amazing. I took part in the charity abseil last year and fancied something a lot higher for this year’s fundraising event!”
Jessica’s Just Giving page is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jessica-smith71
Lydia added: “I was inspired to help support this cause by Jessica. She is the perfect example of the dedication and compassion shown by those who work at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, striving to provide exceptional healthcare to all in need.
“Myself and my family have first-hand experience of the good work which takes place in these hospitals. We hope to raise as much money as possible to help this work continue and to support Bradford Teaching Hospitals and the patients they care for.”
Lydia’s Just Giving page is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lydia-mary-horsman
The daredevils took part in tandem skydives with experienced instructors. The experience was led by Skydive GB, which is based in Grindale, Bridlington. When visibility is good, skydivers can see the spectacular Yorkshire coastline, from Whitby down to the Humber Bridge.
Hayley Collis, head of fundraising for Bradford Hospitals’ Charity, said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and so we’re delighted that this enthusiastic team of fundraisers chose to support our charity.”
To find out more about Bradford Hospitals’ Charity and how you can support your local hospitals, visit www.bradfordhospitalscharity.org. Alternatively, contact Hayley Collis or Elaine Drake on 01274 274809 or email charity@bthft.nhs.uk
ENDS
Note to Editors:
Please note, Bradford Hospitals’ Charity’s Neonatal Fund is Bowman Riley’s chosen charity.
- Bradford Hospitals’ Charity is one of more than 250 NHS charities based around the UK. It supports the strategic direction of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust by funding projects which go over and above what he NHS provides.
- Did you know that, together, all NHS charities give £1million every single day to the NHS!
- In 2017, a new £28million wing opened at Bradford Royal Infirmary, which was part of a £75m investment to improve patient care across our hospitals. It provides world-class facilities for the elderly, children and a brand new intensive care unit. Bradford Hospitals’ Charity provided £260,000 to enable the Trust to create family friendly environments, state-of-the-art equipment and innovative distraction toys and games for young people.
- With the support of Bradford Hospitals’ Charity, BTHFT was also able to provide more cots, including intensive care and high dependency cots, new family accommodation, a revamped counselling suite and a dedicated room for mothers to express milk for pre-term babies when the new neonatal unit opened in 2015.
For further media information, please contact Kelly Thornham, Communications Officer, at communications@bthft.nhs.uk or call 01274 382265
Twitter: @BTHFTCharity Facebook: bradfordhospitalscharity Instagram:bradfordhospitalscharity LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/bradfordhospitalscharity
Note to Editors:
- Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust:
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for providing hospital services for the people of Bradford and communities across Yorkshire. We serve a core population of around 500,000 and provide specialist services for 1.1 million people.
Our 5,500 staff work over several sites, including Bradford Royal Infirmary, which provides the majority of inpatient services, and St Luke’s Hospital, which predominantly provides outpatient and rehabilitation services. We also manage local community hospitals at Westwood Park, Westbourne Green, and Eccleshill.
In early 2017, a new £28 million wing opened at Bradford Royal Infirmary, part of a £75m investment to improve patient care across our hospitals over a five-year period. It provides world-class facilities for elderly care, children’s services, a state-of-the-art intensive care unit with increased single-room provision and a retail concourse.
The new wing is a continuation of our work to improve patient experience after our new £2 million neonatal unit officially opened in January 2015. Our maternity services were recently shortlisted for the Royal College of Midwives’ (RCM) Midwifery Service of the Year Award, recognising excellence and innovation in the provision of maternity care.
In 2017, we also completed a £2m refurbishment of our Emergency Department (ED) as part of an ambitious vision to create a more efficient acute medicine service for the people of Bradford. It has been designed to provide a slicker and more efficient service, with faster senior clinical involvement at an early stage in the patient pathway.
As a teaching hospital, we are at the forefront of education and development in healthcare, and have an excellent reputation for research performance. We are one of the leading centres in conducting applied research in the country, particularly in quality and safety, elderly care and rehabilitation.
The Trust is home to the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) where researchers have led the development, validation and implementation of the award-winning Bradford Electronic Frailty Index (eFI) which helps calculate an elderly person’s risk of disability, impairment, falls and complications of chronic diseases, as well as their diminishing independence and capability. This is now being used by 98 per cent of all GPs across the country.
Our award-winning Ophthalmology department is home to numerous worldwide clinical trials taking the lead in eye care research and we are one of only three sites in the United Kingdom to be enlisted in the Perioperative Enhanced Recovery Hip Fracture Care of Patients with Dementia (PERFECTED) study, which will investigate how the NHS can introduce better standards of care to improve outcomes for people with dementia.
Follow us on Twitter: @BTHFT
For more information please visit www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk
The Trust has its own Bradford Hospitals Charity: www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk/charity