April 2011

Insurance company support maternity service

Caring employees at a local insurance company collected £850 to help women at Broomfield Hospital’s maternity service deal a little better with a heartbreaking experience

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The staff at Bluefin Insurance Company in Chelmsford organised a variety of fundraising events and special staff days to raise funds for the Hospital's 'Forget Me Not room' which provides a quiet area where women can give birth to their stillborn children.

Senior midwife, Janet Troy explained how important it is for families to have a special place away from the busy labour ward, and said: “We are very grateful that the staff from Bluefin have chosen to support our Hospital, and in particular the 'Forget Me Not' room.  We always need extra funds to help us to give the room a more homely feel by including things such as pictures and duvets."

It was the idea of Jo Carter and Katie Chalkley from Bluefin to raise funds for the room.  Katie said: “We can’t begin to imagine what a dreadful time it must be for a family to have a stillborn baby, but we are pleased to learn that our money will make a real difference, especially as some of it will be used to buy “memory boxes” for keepsakes."

Goldwings “face it” for head and neck appeal

Local motorbike enthusiasts handed over £630 to nursing staff on the plastic surgery ward to kick start a new appeal for a specialised head and neck unit at Broomfield Hospital. 

Members of the Essex Goldwings Motorcycle Club visited nursing staff who are keen to refurbish the unit for patients receiving reconstructive surgery following head/neck cancer or severe trauma.   Sandie Tisdell senior sister thanked the club members  for their continued support, and explained how patients will benefit from purpose built facilities and specialised medical equipment.  Sandy said: “We couldn’t achieve this project without the help of the Goldwings club, they are an inspiration to us all  These extra funds will help us ensure our patients are treated in surroundings they deserve."

Bikers support neonatal unit

Christmas may seem like a distant memory for most of us, but members of Essex Wings are still spreading some festive cheer by making another generous donation to the neonatal unit.

Last December, the bikers braved the freezing temperatures and took to the streets of Chelmsford for the annual Christmas coin collection.  Despite being caught in a snow blizzard, the leather clad fundraisers still impressed local Christmas shoppers with their Honda Goldwing motorbike display and raised nearly £700.

Danny Harrington, member of Essex Wings, said: “The weather conditions certainly proved a challenge, but despite that we’re pleased to present the unit with this donation and support the important work of the neonatal staff.”

Yvonne Carter, Charities Support Officer, said: “We are always extremely grateful to the members of Essex Wings for the remarkable support they give to our hospital.  This generous donation will help us buy vital medical equipment used for babies who need intensive and specialist care when they are first born.”

Well done to our Marathon runners

Congratulations and THANK YOU to the members of the Essex Police who completed the London Marathonin support of the neonatal unit.

Chief Superintendent Jed Stopher, a divisional commander based at police headquarters in Chelmsford, led the team across the finish line in six hours and 50 minutes.

They joined over 36,000 other runners taking on the 26.2 mile course, and as in other years turned a few heads by dressing as cops and robbers - what else?!

He said “It was extra tough going this year due to the heat but we made it and that’s the important thing, even though we were overtaken by 4 rhinos, a man who ran backwards and a London bus! A really great day was had and my thanks go to everyone who has supported us so far.”

They hope to raise £10,000 to equipment for the unit, and you can still help them reach their target by donating via their justgiving page at: http://www.justgiving.com/Essex-Police-Marathon-Team-2011

Egg-cellent donation to Phoenix Ward

Members of staff from Randstad Education have generously donated over 50 chocolate Easter eggs to help brighten the holidays of the children on Phoenix ward.

Staff on the ward delivered a selection of the eggs to children on the unit who were delighted that Easter had come a few days early this year.

Kerry Robinson, Consultant at Randstad Education, explained “We know it can’t be fun for children having to spend Easter in hospital, so we thought it would cheer them up if we delivered a few Easter eggs to them. We approached some of the schools we work with to see if they could donate any eggs and we were really pleased with the response. We really hope the children enjoy tucking in and that this small token puts a smile on their face while they’re here!”

Children get Easter treats from local firm

Staff from International Data Services Ltd wanted to ensure our younger patients didn’t miss out on any of the Easter fun while being in hospital, so held a collection of Easter eggs which they generously donated to the children’s ward and children’s burns unit last week.

Karen Sharp, HR Manager at IFDS Ltd, said “We were overwhelmed with the amount of Easter eggs we received from our staff, it’s great to have enough to give out to the Phoenix Ward and the burns ward and outpatients area.”

Elizabeth Lawrence, Staff Nurse on phoenix ward, said “We’d all like to thank the staff at IFDS Ltd for the lovely donation. We’ll really enjoy giving these out to the children, gifts like this really cheer the little ones up when they’re not feeling well.”