BRADFORD Hospitals’ Charity has launched an urgent appeal for the public to support the city’s hard-working NHS hospital staff through the COVID-19 crisis.
The NHS Hospital Heroes Appeal has launched today to raise money for staff across Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and to encourage the public to show their support.
Members of the public are asked to donate to a crisis fund, which will be used to buy items and services for staff to help them through the weeks and months ahead.
Max Mclean, Chair of both Bradford Teaching Hospitals and Bradford Hospitals’ Charity, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has placed immense pressure on NHS services in Bradford and beyond, with staff across our hospitals working around the clock to care for patients.
“Staff in every area of the hospital are working hard – from the front line to the back-office. They have families, just like you, who they must leave behind to keep our NHS working for everyone. Not only have they risen to the current challenge, but they are also busy preparing for even worse to come.
“We know we have very tough times ahead but we will continue to come to work and put patients first. But we need your help now, more than ever before.
“Please do what you can to help our staff, so they can help you.”
The public can support the NHS Hospital Heroes Appeal in the following ways:
1.You can donate money via our Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/campaign/BTHFTCovid-19
£10 could pay for a comfort pack for staff having to stay overnight at short notice.
£20 could pay for a return taxi to work so that a member of staff does not need to use the bus.
£50 could stock a snack area for staff working long hours.
£100 could pay for a hotel room for staff needing to stay close to the hospital or isolate from their families to keep working.
£1,000 could pay for a hydration station to remain fully stocked with drinks and snacks for a ward for an entire month.
The Trust will decide where the money is needed and will ensure your donations are spent to support staff through this crisis.
2. As a business, you could donate goods or services.
From refreshments and snacks to accommodation for our hard-working staff to stay nearby – we would be grateful for any support you can provide.
Please don’t deliver any items to hospitals, as you MUST stay safe at home. We will find a way for the goods to be delivered or the message to be communicated to our staff.
Many local businesses are also offering discounts to our NHS staff. This makes a huge difference and we are very grateful. If you are able to offer any discounts, please let us know. All discounts will be publicised on the Bradford Hospitals’ Charity website.
If you would like to offer goods or services, please call our charity office on 01274 274809 or email charity@bthft.nhs.uk
3.You could also join our army of new NHS volunteers! Please sign up via the good Sams app at www.goodsamapp.org/nhs
4.Finally, please do send your messages of support! This is such a tough time for everyone in the NHS and we would love to know you have our backs! Your messages will make a big difference during the difficult days and nights ahead.
You can send messages of support via the Bradford Teaching Hospitals and Bradford Hospitals’ Charity websites or tweet your messages, tagging @BTHFTcharity and @BTHFT.
All information is on the Bradford Hospitals’ Charity website too.(https://bradfordhospitalscharity.org/nhshospitalheroes)
ENDS
Note to Editors:
- Bradford Hospitals’ Charity is the official charity partner of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It is one of more than 250 NHS charities based around the UK. It supports the strategic direction of BTHFT by funding projects which go over and above what the 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% 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.