Torch Spring / Summer 2021

TORCH O X F O R D H O S P I TA L S C H A R I T Y M A G A Z I N E

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Staff nurse Thiara Manjinder from the Ambulatory Assessment Unit ©Thomas Capon / Oxford Medical Illustration (OMI)

Making a difference across your hospitals

Welcome

to this edition of TORCH, the magazine for Oxford Hospitals Charity

It has been an extraordinary time for everyone – one of great change and challenge.

But despite this most testing period, there have also been many moments of real kindness and generosity that our charity team has been privileged to witness. This is all thanks to the tremendous support of our local community, including so many of you reading this magazine right now.

In this edition, we are highlighting some of our incredible fundraisers, donors and local businesses, and reflecting on how they have helped our hospitals like never before.

This support fuelled our Charity, allowing us to focus on the wellbeing of patients and staff across the John Radcliffe, Horton General, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Churchill and Oxford Children’s Hospitals, throughout the pandemic.

It meant we could provide practical and emotional support for staff like Michele, who shares her first-hand reflections on working in Intensive Care at both the John Radcliffe and Horton in our feature piece on page 4.

It also allowed us to reach so many patients, providing computer tablets to stay in touch, funding innovative support – like the virtual music concerts featured on page 13 – as well as new activity packs with quizzes, word searches and puzzles to keep patients occupied while visiting restrictions are in place.

And alongside these huge efforts, we have been able to keep moving forward with our planned funding. You will read about the incredible impact of a large legacy that has funded cutting-edge equipment for the John Radcliffe’s Emergency Department, and a major advance at the Horton General which has helped to create a dedicated space for children needing emergency care.

This past year has taught us that with you by our side, we can achieve more than we ever imagined in our hospitals. And as we look ahead, and focus on recovery and rejuvenation, we share our thanks with you all and ask you to keep supporting and making a difference in your local hospitals – the hospitals that care for you and your loved ones.

Thank you Sarah Vaccari Editor, TORCH magazine

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In this edition: l PAGE 4 There are many different ways that you can support Oxford Hospitals Charity: MAKE A DONATION by using the response form ✔ on the back of this magazine or go to www.hospitalcharity.co.uk to make a one-off or regular gift

Line of Duty: an interview with Critical Care Senior Sister, Michele Young

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ac’s Big Bounce Z for Oxford Children’s Hospital

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A history of support – a celebration of the centenary of Oxfordshire Hospital School and 50 years of Silver Star Unit

✔ CREATE YOUR OWN EVENT or CHALLENGE by going to www.hospitalcharity.co.uk/fundraising

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ASK YOUR COMPANY OR GROUP to choose us as ✔ their local charity of the year

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✔ INCLUDE THE CHARITY IN YOUR WILL and help to support the health of future generations

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CALL US on 01865 743 444 to donate or discuss ✔ potential support Go to our website www.hospitalcharity.co.uk for more support and to read inspiring stories about why your support makes such a difference.

Thank you

O Captain, my Captain! Our tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore

Thanks to you: celebrating the successes you have helped us to achieve

Take a bow: a fantastic response from local organisations and the community in response to our COVID Appeal

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A lasting legacy: generous bequest from local man enables purchase of CT scanner

l PAGE 12 so much for your incredible support.

Building future funds – why a regular gift has never been more important to Oxford Hospitals Charity

l PAGE 13 Oxford Hospitals Charity includes Horton General Hospital Charity and Oxford Children’s Hospital Charity.

Our support covers the whole of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, covering the John Radcliffe, Horton General, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Churchill and Oxford Children’s Hospital, as well as the many satellite sites that are under our Trust.

The comfort and joy brought by our Music on Wards programme

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Your triumphant fundraising stories

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OX5 RUN! Our latest fundraising event

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charity@ouh.nhs.uk

Oxford Hospitals Charity

How to make a donation

Oxford Hospitals Charity Unipart House Business Centre, Oxford, OX4 2PG

01865 743 444

@OxHospCharity

www.hospitalcharity.co.uk

OXFORD HOSPITALS CHARITY (REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1175809) – A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE (11052176)

Intensive Care Michele Young getting prepared for a shift. ©Jon Lewis / Oxford Hospitals Charity

Line of Duty: Michele Young has worked as a Critical Care Senior Sister for nearly twenty years.

Here she describes her own COVID-19 experience, caring for some of the sickest patients in the county at Horton General Hospital in Banbury and John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford

‘The day the coronavirus patient assessment pod arrived everything became very real. Seeing it there in the car park was a stark moment for us all.

The sense of camaraderie was really strong, and we all knew we were making a massive difference, which is quite exhilarating.

There was a lot of fear amongst staff: fear of the unknown, of being overwhelmed, of what we might be taking home to our families.

I used to wonder why in wartime soldiers would enlist: I think I understand it more now. There was a real sense of duty, of knowing this is what I am here to do.

However, at the beginning there was also a strong sense of anticipation, and the incredible teamwork and support for each other lasted throughout.

Yet at the same time there were moments when I felt genuinely scared. I actually sat and wrote down the music and poems I would like for my funeral – that’s how real the fear was.

When you first step into the full PPE and walk into the secured area it feels a bit like being an astronaut stepping into space.

For us, the second wave in 2021 was harder than the first, everyone was still tired and had not fully recovered from the first wave.

But instead of quiet and solitude, you walk into an area that is incredibly busy, full of people and noisy machines.

The number of COVID patients was much higher than at the peak of 2020, and we were also trying really hard to keep some of the normal work going, so it all felt relentless.

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I have been repeatedly inspired by the work I have seen by colleagues throughout the hospitals.

We were of course just doing our jobs – this is what we do and why we are here – but none of us had ever faced anything like this before. I am so proud of the way people across this Trust – in every imaginable role – pulled together and rose to each new challenge.

The support that came from the charity throughout was also key – boxes of fruit, a well-timed pizza delivery, hand cream and lip balm for PPE-weary bodies – all made such a difference. And the legacy of all this is that there is a much stronger focus on the wellbeing of NHS staff and that is a good thing. Because it is clearer than ever that there will be a long-term effect on individuals.

For all of us, whether in critical care or on the wards, looking after so many desperately ill patients – some for many months at a time – was at times overwhelming, and those we lost will always stay with us and be remembered.

I’ll never forget this time, and it really reaffirmed to me what it is to be an ICU nurse, there to help patients in any way I could.

We could not be more grateful for the generosity and kindness of our local community.’

A HUGE THANK YOU!

Hospital staff receiving a delivery of support

Thanks to you …

With your generous support, our Charity helped NHS staff like Michele throughout the pandemic.

During the most testing times, when it was difficult for staff to leave the wards and so many catering facilities were closed, we made sure they were supplied with hot meals, snacks, and drinks, as well as care packs, to give them a boost.

Charitable donations also funded spaces for hospital teams to recuperate during the most intense and difficult days, and we plan to create permanent wellbeing hubs in the hospitals, having learnt how important this support is.

Your gifts help us look after the staff in our hospitals – which in turn benefits our patients – not just during a pandemic, but all year round.

DONATE • FUNDRAISE • FIND OUT MORE

www.hospitalcharity.co.uk

Zac’s

Big Bounce

for the Oxford Children’s Hospital

Seven-year-old Zac Blyton from Bicester has bounced his way to raising over £6,000 for Oxford Hospitals Charity despite undergoing gruelling cancer treatment during lockdown Zac and his trusty pogo stick bounced for ten solid minutes on the hour, EVERY hour throughout one whole Saturday, completing an amazing 7,800 boings throughout the day.

What made his feat even more incredible was the fact that earlier that year, during the first lockdown, Zac was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the lymphatic system in his bowel called Non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt lymphoma.

His mum, Jenni, explained: ‘There were long stays in hospital undergoing a really tough treatment regime, with gallons of chemotherapy drugs, countless lumbar punctures, and scans, tests and the odd blood transfusion along the way.’

His pogo marathon raised over £6,000 for the children’s hospital – an absolutely incredible achievement.

Nicole Silvester, from Oxford Hospitals Charity, said: ‘Superstars like Zac make such a difference to all our hospitals, helping Oxford Hospitals Charity to make the wards and departments more welcoming for patients of all ages, and funding high tech medical equipment.

We are always so grateful to our amazing inspirational fundraisers, like young Zac. We can’t thank him or his family enough!’

Jenni told us: ‘It is so hard to watch your child going through so much, but we were supported every step of the way by the amazing staff on the ward.

'Zac is still in the early days of remission and has five years of follow up appointments to come.

It’s left him with painful joints and he is tired, but it has not killed off his cheeky personality or stubbornness to see things through.’

Soon after treatment had finished, Zac hatched a plan to raise funds for Oxford Hospitals Charity.

He wanted to support the Oxford Children’s Hospital and particularly children on Kamran’s Ward, which looks after young cancer patients, just like him.

Oxford Children’s Hospiital Hosp Charity

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Zac is one of many youngsters who have supported our Charity this past year – each and every one of them is a superstar in our eyes!

And if you're inspired to take on a challenge like Zac to support one of our special hospitals, or make a donation, please visit:

www.hospitalcharity.co.uk

A history of

Support

In the midst of the pandemic, we were able to take a moment to mark and celebrate two very special areas within our hospitals.

The Oxfordshire Hospital School, which provides young patients with an education during their stay in hospital, celebrated its centenary in October.

This specialist school is believed to be the oldest of its kind in the UK, possibly the world!

It was created in 1920 on the site of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, then known as the 'Wingfield Hospital'. The original teaching manuals show that there were only 14 pupils and lessons largely took place outside when the school first started. Today, up to 1,000 children are taught every year.

The Silver Star Unit provides special care at the John Radcliffe for mothers with medical complications during pregnancy.

This ground-breaking centre is now fifty years old and cares for around 500 women from across Oxfordshire and beyond every year.

We know how many families are passionate about the care they have received through this very special unit – which has helped bring so many babies into the world.

The author, Clare Mackintosh, patron of the Silver Star Society, its charitable arm, said: ‘For 50 years Professor Redman and the Silver Star team have been protecting pregnancies and saving lives.

The Silver Star Society works tirelessly to raise money, and the equipment and training they fund has never been more essential. I cannot thank them enough for my own Silver Star family.’

To support the Silver Star Society, visit our website:

www.hospitalcharity.co.uk/silverstar

Headteacher, Steve Lowe, said: ‘Being the head as the school turned 100 is a total honour. Reflecting on the work that the staff have done, and the achievements made by its pupils over 100 years, is incredibly humbling.’

Our Charity has a long history of supporting the work of the school. Pupils are working with artist Davina Drummond on a project to celebrate the centenary, funded by Oxford Hospitals Charity.

DONATE • FUNDRAISE • FIND OUT MORE

www.hospitalcharity.co.uk

O Captain, my Captain! © Danny Lawson / PA

We would like to pay special tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore who died on 2nd February and the way in which he inspired the nation and helped so many local NHS charities like ours across the UK. We are thinking of his family and all those who have lost loved ones during the pandemic.

No-one – least of all Captain Tom – could have foreseen what a beacon of hope he would become for the nation.

Like many others, he was moved by the tireless work of NHS teams and originally planned to raise £1,000 by walking 100 lengths of his garden in time to celebrate his 100th birthday.

In the end, he raised close to £33 million and inspired thousands of others to support the national appeal for NHS Charities Together, which works to help local NHS charities – like Oxford Hospitals Charity – across the country.

We have purchased lung function monitors for every Oxfordshire child with Cystic Fibrosis so that this complex condition can be cared for with fewer visits to hospital. We’ve also funded tablet devices for older patients to connect with family and watch our virtual music concerts, so they feel less isolated while in hospital.

This support also helped us to provide meals for staff who spent much of 2020 staying in lodgings, away from their family homes, so they could be closer to the hospitals and protect their loved ones.

It has also funded a rest pod for exhausted Emergency Department teams and extra support for black and minority ethnic staff who have been so badly affected by COVID-19.

These are just a few of the things that Captain Tom and so many others have helped to make happen.

We are incredibly grateful for the gifts that he shared with us all, and appreciative to all our Oxford Hospitals Charity supporters whose generosity helps to continue his amazing legacy to the NHS across the whole of the UK.

The Oxford Hospitals Charity Team

The funds raised have made such a difference to so many hospitals during this pandemic.

We have been able to equip emergency respite rooms to give staff a calm space away from the clinical environment to recuperate between shifts.

Sam Foster, Chief Nursing Officer, and Charity CEO, Douglas Graham, share thanks for your support.

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Thanks to you...

Thanks to your donations we were able to provide extra help for patients of all ages supported by our hospitals. These are just three examples of the hundreds of projects and initiatives that have been taking place

Echo Suite helping heart patients In mid March 2020, the John Radcliffe’s Interventional Cardiology team took delivery of a state-of-the-art 3D Echo suite, costing £153,000.

As well as helping many older patients with an array of valve and vascular conditions, it can also be used with younger patients who have had a stroke caused by a hole in the heart.

The equipment – all funded by Oxford Hospitals Charity through our Heartfelt Appeal – provides high quality 3D images via a probe inserted into the heart through the groin, allowing complex cardiac procedures to take place without the need for a general anaesthetic. This reduces risk for the patient, often enables them to go home on the same day, and also allows more patients to be seen, shortening waiting lists.

Sam Dawkins, consultant cardiologist explains: ‘Thanks to this equipment, alongside an incredible can-do attitude from the team, our service has continued throughout the COVID pandemic. In fact, we did more valve replacements during the peak three months in the Spring 2020 than we have ever done in the past ten years.’

At home care

Vulnerable young patients with Cystic Fibrosis have been able to be closely monitored from the comfort of their own home – thanks to funding from our Charity.

Working with the Children’s Cystic Fibrosis team, we purchased 120 specialist lung function monitors which were sent to the homes of young patients across Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties.

Dr Jeremy Hull, the Oxford Children’s Cystic Fibrosis Director, explains: ‘We asked the charity to help at the beginning of the lock down and they said yes very quickly, which meant the order for the monitors could go straight in. Just two weeks later the monitors were received and sent out to all the children and young people who would need them, and they have been incredibly useful.’

Gift Bags

With visitor restrictions in place, and the usual ward-based activities impossible due to the pandemic, the Charity team had to find new ways to provide extra support for our patients.

Alongside the virtual music concerts (detailed on page 13), our arts co-ordinator helped create some fantastic activity books, with puzzles, quizzes and drawing activities to keep patients occupied.

These went into our charity gift packs, which also included packs of cards, pens and pencils, hand cream, lip balm and biscuits.

The feedback was so positive we hope to continue this in the future – particularly focussing on older patients and those spending long periods in hospital.

DONATE • FUNDRAISE • FIND OUT MORE

www.hospitalcharity.co.uk

Thank You

Bouygues are one of the many local companies who have donated towards our work.

for the amazing support given in the last 12 months

There has been an astonishing response from local businesses since the start of the pandemic. Thousands of hot meals, pieces of fruit, snacks, treats, cakes, and toiletries were provided to grateful NHS staff.

The generosity of our local supporters was SO appreciated, and we can’t thank you enough for helping to make an extremely challenging situation more tolerable.

All of this was facilitated by our incredible team of volunteers, alongside our charity team, who worked so hard to make sure that as many staff as possible were reached. We salute you all.

We’d like to give a huge • Cosmo Oxford for providing 50 hot

meals daily for children’s hospital parents during the first wave.

• Oxford Fine Dining who supplied food for NHS staff staying in hotels and patient meals at the children’s hospital.

• Clarins and Unilever for donating wellbeing packs and moisturisers.

• Salute the NHS for 100,000 meals to frontline staff.

• Happy Cakes for literally thousands of delicious cupcakes.

• Bonners of Oxford for their wonderful fruit boxes.

• Oxford Sandwich Company for the wellbeing packs and teatime treat boxes.

• Bouygues for weekly snack packs.

to …

• Juice for helping patients stay connected by donating hundreds of phone chargers.

• Bicester Village who helped fund patients goodie bags, staff Christmas treats, and music on wards.

• Hope Oxford for providing 600 hot lunches per week to critical care teams.

AND local restaurants: Absolute Taste, Flipping Burgerz, Food for Heroes, Franco Manca Pizza, Hospitality for Heroes, Ready Steady Spice, Spiced Roots and Taste Tibet, and all who kept staff and patients well fed.

We are thankful to each and every business and organisation who offered support, and to the thousands of local people who donated to our COVID appeal, which allowed us to fund so much of this help. Space did not permit us to thank each and every one but we hope that you realise what a key part you have played in supporting our NHS. You have made a huge difference – from all of us at Oxford Hospitals Charity, thank you so much.

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A truly lasting Legacy Thanks to an incredibly generous gift left in the Will of a kind-hearted local man, we have been able to fund a high-tech CT scanner which will help to speed up diagnosis and treatment for the most critically ill patients The state-of-the-art equipment cost £820,000 and is now being used in the John Radcliffe Emergency Department, which has recently been expanded as part of a major investment in emergency care in the region. Around 19,000 patients are expected to benefit from this new technology every year.

Douglas Graham, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Hospitals Charity, said: ‘We are really pleased that the charity has been able to support this crucial development.

It is particularly significant that a bequest of this nature will help so many in their time of greatest need.’

Gifts in Wills – large and small – contribute around a quarter of our Charity’s income most years and help us to fund many of our largest projects.

In recent years, charitable bequests have helped to build the Oxford Children’s Hospital and support major improvements at the Oxford Eye Hospital, the Brodey Cancer Centre at the Horton, as well as pioneering cancer and cardiac projects.

In fact, there’s a long history of the impact of legacies dating back as far as the very first hospital in Oxford, founded in 1758, thanks to a legacy from Dr John Radcliffe, the physician to Queen Anne. Similarly, Mary Ann Horton left significant funds in her Will in 1869 to help the creation of the Horton General Hospital.

With difficulties in organising mass fundraising events, legacies have never been more important.

We are so grateful to supporters who include our charity in their Wills, for the benefit of their local community and future generations to come.

The Charity has funded a brand new CT scanner.

Your legacy donation will be spent in your local hospitals, to benefit friends, family and your local community, long into the future.

The following information will help you or your solicitor, but don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like more guidance.

• Our charity is called: ‘Oxford Hospitals Charity’ • Our registered charity number is: 1175809 • Our address is: Oxford Hospitals Charity, Unipart House, Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2PG If you’d like to find out more about how gifts in Wills help us transform our hospitals, please visit www.hospitalcharity.co.uk/legacy or call 01865 743444.

DONATE • FUNDRAISE • FIND OUT MORE

www.hospitalcharity.co.uk

With your help… it all adds up Building for the future with the best patient services, staff support, and medical equipment has never been so important. In the wake of an extremely challenging 12 months for the NHS, we reflect on how to fund future plans Oxford Hospitals Charity has been humbled by the support of the local community during the pandemic months. You have made such a difference to the staff and patients in our Oxfordshire hospitals, and we can’t thank you enough.

‘The people of Oxfordshire and beyond have been absolutely fantastic in the way they have responded to the pandemic and supported our hospitals.

‘But we still need your help. When so many of our usual sources of fundraising have been affected, particularly popular sponsored events like the abseil and the OX5 Run, we need to look for different ways to fund our services for the people that matter most: our patients and staff,’ explained acting Head of Fundraising, Mandy Lomax.

‘We are lucky to have many generous donors who support the Charity. Regular gifts are particularly important because guaranteed funds allow us to plan our spending across the hospitals, knowing that we have reliable income.

‘Every pound we receive really does make a difference – and over the course of year, these regular gifts really add up.

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‘For example, our charity has just helped to create dedicated waiting and treatment areas to ensure the 11,000 children visiting the Horton General Hospital’s Emergency Department receive the best possible care.’

This is the kind of project (pictured above) that regular support allows us to plan – and with your help we can do so much more across all our hospitals – helping the causes closest to your heart.

So if you’d like to set up a regular gift to Oxford Hospitals Charity, please go to this link www.hospitalcharity.co.uk/regulargiving or call 01865 743444. Thank you.

What our regular givers say: Our 12-year-old grandson recently had a delicate 10 hour operation to remove a tumour from the top of his spine. He is making good and steady progress in his recovery. The family is so very grateful for the care and attention he is receiving from the dedicated team of doctors and nursing staff. We will forever be in their debt.

Kenneth, Milton Keynes

I am donating to help support my local hospital now due to Covid-19, but also on an on-going basis. I had both my daughters at The Horton, and owe my life to you. We would be a far worse-off town without you all – thank you.

Laura, Bodicote

Thank you

for the music

From ABBA to Handel, Gershwin to Van Morrison, our popular Music on Wards Programme brings comfort and joy to patients and staff alike. The regular concerts, funded

by Oxford Hospitals Charity and organised by artlink, the hospitals’ arts programme, had to adapt to the times and have proven a real hit, raising smiles during difficult days.

Live musical concerts performed on the wards and waiting areas of the John Radcliffe, Horton, Churchill, and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, have always been popular. Yet when COVID-19 arrived, strict regulations around hospital visiting left many patients feeling lonely and the wards a whole lot quieter.

Ruth Charity, our Arts Coordinator, explains: ‘Hearing familiar tunes can prompt patients to reminisce, calm distressed patients, and help make the hospital environment more friendly and welcoming. There is a wealth of research to show how music can lift mood, engage and stimulate people in hospital, particularly our older patients and those with dementia.

‘With COVID-19 we had to cancel all our ward concerts, but we were determined to find a way to bring them back safely, and maintain the intimacy and personal contact that are the hallmark of this programme.’

As live musical performances were temporarily suspended, tablet devices were introduced to offer a song and a chat via a live link, delivered by two talented musicians – Kate Wilkinson and Tristan Pate.

One of our patients on the Complex Medical wards enjoying a live concert with musician, Kate.

Sarah Saunders, Memory Nurse Specialist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added: ‘These virtual concerts really make a difference, and some of the responses to the music are quite extraordinary. We see the music lift the spirits of our patients, some of whom have been really very low and lonely, particularly during the time when COVID prevented any visitors coming in. ‘Music on Wards provides a wonderful distraction during a hospital stay and we are all looking forward to when live in-person concerts are back on the wards once again.’

‘It means so much to the whole team to see our patients smiling and laughing.’

The Music on Wards Programme is funded by Oxford Hospitals Charity. iPad concerts currently run weekly on CMU wards, the Stroke Ward and Transfer Lounge at the JR, and are due to resume soon on wards at the NOC and Horton General Hospital.

Find out more about the work of Oxford Hospitals Charity at www.hospitalcharity.co.uk and its arts programme at www.ouh.nhs.uk/artlink.

DONATE • FUNDRAISE • FIND OUT MORE

www.hospitalcharity.co.uk

Your Fundraising Stories A massive thank you to all our supporters for the tireless energy and enthusiasm in fundraising on our behalf. There are more of your inspiring stories shared on our Facebook page (@OxfordHospitalsCharity) and on our website www.hospitalcharity.co.uk/news

2020 miles to thank Churchill Hospital

Bicester gets crafty

A huge thank you to Tresa, Lauren, Sarah, and Vicky from Abingdon who ran 2020 miles in 2020 to thank the staff at Blenheim Head & Neck Ward for the care and support they gave to Tresa’s husband Colin, when he was treated.

We are so inspired by this fab four, please join us in giving them a round of applause. y

THank ou

Rachel gets creative to thank cancer centre Rachel from Swindon, raised over £500 for the Oxford Cancer Centre by creating a beautiful calendar to sell within the local community. Rachel wanted to thank the amazing staff at the specialist centre who cared for her friend Gordon.

Local craft group, Bicester Craft Club, have helped raise over £2,500 for the Oxford Children’s Hospital through selling home-made arts and crafts at their local market. Thank you to all the amazing crafters who have found so many ways to help our hospitals.

Ida’s big run for Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre

THank you

Brilliant Brockies A great big thank you to Rachel and Mike Brockie, who recently completed a year of fundraising events in support of the Neuro Intensive Care Department.

The family were inspired after Mike sustained a serious brain injury in 2019 and spent over 22 days in a coma. After a year of rehabilitation and treatment, Mike was back doing the things he loved and was determined to thank the hospital staff for his incredible care.

Together, they raised over £17,000! Please do join us in celebrating this family’s wonderful achievement. THank you

Five-year-old Ida and her mum, Kayleigh, from Bicester signed up for a Half Marathon race and 1k Children’s fun run to thank the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, after staff helped transform Ida’s life when she was born with fibular hemimelia.

Together they raised over £1,600 for the specialist hospital.

Thank You, Ida and Kayleigh!

I F Y O U ’ V E B E E N I N S P I R E D to take on your own challenge, you can quickly create a fundraising page at

John’s 100 lap challenge After suffering a major stroke at the beginning of 2020, John Inglett from Didcot, set himself a challenge.

To aid his recovery, John decided he would walk 100 laps around his garden. All funds raised were to show his gratitude to the medical teams at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre for such kind and compassionate care.

John’s incredible efforts raised over £6,500 for the ward and have helped fund a specialist hoist, helping other patients in future.

THank you John!

Setting the pace!

As we go to print, this year’s virtual fun run, in support of the Oxford Children’s Hospital and children’s areas across the whole of our NHS Trust, is under starter’s orders!

The Oxford Mail OX5 RUN is a hugely important event in our fundraising calendar – and many of you never miss the annual five miles through the hills of Blenheim Palace.

For the second year in row we’ve had to do things a bit differently, and we are so thrilled at the support you have continued to show.

Over 500 have signed up to run five miles, with many NHS staff pledging to pull on their trainers – including some of the hardest working folk in our hospitals.

The Oxford Vaccine Group – who’ve worked relentlessly on the COVID-19 vaccine – are joining in, and our Chief Nurse, Sam Foster, is running with her daughter. www.justgiving.com/oxfordhospitals

The John Radcliffe Microbiology team (who have been kept busy analysing a quarter of a million COVID samples) and staff from the Horton’s Emergency Department and Children’s Ward are taking part too.

And, as always, many of our wonderful Children’s Hospital families are joining in – including the Hammond family who are on track to raise over £7,000!

We are so grateful to all those taking part and also to our brilliant sponsors, Oxfordshire recruitment agency Allen Associates, the Oxford Mail, Jack FM, and warm-up supremo, George Martini.

O XF O RD H O SPI TA L S C H A RI TY 2021

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to your local hospitals Simply use this form to support the hospitals you care about OR DONATE ONLINE AT www.hospitalcharity.co.uk/donate TORCHSPR21

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We can boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate:

I want to Gift Aid this donation and any donations I make in the future or I have made in the past 4 years to Oxford Hospitals Charity (previously known as Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Charitable Funds) Reg. charity 1175809. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less income tax and /or capital gains tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

We would like to keep in touch with you by post to share the impact of your gift as well as future events, initiatives or appeals that we think would interest you. If you’d prefer to hear from us by email or telephone, please complete your details below.

Email ................................................................................................................................................... Tel no ......................................................................................

If you would prefer not to hear from us at all, please tick this box n Oxford Hospitals Charity takes your privacy very seriously and will only ever use the personal information you share with us to fulfil your donor experience and/or fulfil our administration and governance requirements. We will never sell your data.

At any time you can change your contact preferences. Simply give us a call 01865 743 444, email charity@ouh.nhs.uk or write to the address below.

PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM WITH YOUR CHEQUE OR CARD DETAILS TO: Oxford Hospitals Charity, Unipart House, Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2PG E: charity@ouh.nhs.uk

T: 01865 743444

w:www.hospitalcharity.co.uk /donate

Registered charity no. 1175809. Your local charity supporting your local hospitals.

Oxford Hospitals Charity, Unipart House, Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2PG