THANKS to the inspirational actions of Captain Sir Tom Moore, who sadly died last week aged 100, NHS staff and patients in Bradford have benefited from more than £182,000 – with a further £145,000 expected to come.
Yorkshireman Captain Sir Tom, who was born in Keighley, raised more than £33 million during last year’s first national lockdown. And he inspired thousands more people to raise money to support the NHS through the biggest crisis it had ever faced.
Bradford Hospitals’ Charity – the official NHS charity partner of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – was one of 241 NHS charities in the UK to receive grants from the money he raised.
The NHS Charities Together grants have funded a number of items for staff wellbeing rooms (affectionately known as ‘wobble rooms’), such as furniture, microwaves, fridges and self-care products like barrier creams and toiletries to ensure staff have the space to take a time out and look after themselves.
Our charity has invested the grant money to refurbish the Trust Pathology staff room and purchased clothing and equipment for staff who have had to adapt their working practices due to Covid-19. A number of items have been purchased for the Trust’s staff listening service, which provides extra emotional support to staff.
Baby scales have been bought to allow parents to track the weight of little ones remotely, and training items purchased so clinicians can support patients remotely. Patients impacted by the pandemic have benefited too, with grant money funding Samsung tablets, 140 phone chargers, activity items for children and adults, DVD players and books.
Sadly, money has also been spent on memory making kits for those patients receiving end of life care.
Invest in projects
NHS Charities Together also provided a £50,000 grant for our charity to invest in projects which support equality and diversity. This money has been used to fund a peer support programme, a humanist chaplain, the production of instructional videos in different languages and learning disability resources.
Mel Pickup, Chief Executive of Bradford Teaching Hospitals, said: “It’s difficult to add new words to the countless, heartfelt tributes that have been paid to Captain Tom, who captured our hearts in the darkest of times. But he really was something special – we saw the power of one man to inspire a nation, to instil hope and confidence, humanity, courage and kindness.
“We will forever be indebted to you, Captain Tom: you were just what we all needed at the perfect time.
“As well as providing much-needed hope and inspiration, Captain Tom also raised a staggering amount of money for the NHS – from which we have benefitted directly as a Trust.
“Taking care of the mental health of all colleagues is hugely important, and fundraising from people like Captain Tom means our hospitals have benefited from extra wellbeing resources for staff. Our thoughts are with his family.”
Hayley Collis, Head of Fundraising for Bradford Hospitals’ Charity, said: “Not only are we incredibly grateful for the money Captain Sir Tom raised last year, but we are overwhelmed by the support and donations we have received by people who he inspired. Our staff and patients will benefit for a very long time to come.
Boosted morale
“Captain Sir Tom showed true Yorkshire grit, determination and good humour at a time when the nation needed it the most. He also boosted the morale of our NHS staff. He did West Yorkshire proud.
“He was born before the NHS was formed and truly valued the NHS and its staff. For it is its people which makes the NHS a truly great organisation.”
Bradford Hospitals’ Charity is now working alongside neighbouring NHS charities in Bradford District to organise a fitting tribute to Captain Sir Tom.
In addition to the money received from NHS Charities Together, businesses, schools and individuals across Bradford have also donated directly to Bradford Hospitals’ Charity’s NHS Hospital Heroes appeal, raising a further £202,000.
You can find out more about the Bradford Hospitals’ Charity NHS Hospital Heroes appeal at https://bradfordhospitalscharity.org/nhshospitalheroes, or you can donate via Just Giving at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/BTHFTCovid-19
ENDS
Note to Editors:
- 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
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% 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.