The kindness of our communities – Epsom and St Helier bolstered by thanks
Like NHS staff up and down the country, the teams at Epsom and St Helier are working incredibly hard to care for patients and to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
During this challenging time, staff at the hospitals and in community services have been truly bolstered by the support from our local communities, and the Trust would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has made a donation, created art to celebrate staff or joined the weekly #clapforcarers. Over the last few weeks, hundreds of people and local companies have reached out to our hospitals and community services to express their gratitude for staff, including 1,000 free meals for staff from a generous philanthropist and a father and son-in-law duo who shaved their hair off!
Donations have also come in from local individuals, community groups and sports clubs, schools, as well as lots of companies including TX Maxx, Uber, Boots, Pizza Express, KFC, Dominos, Fireaway, Starbucks, Eucerin Skincare, Eve Beds, Café Nero, Pure Food Systems, Michael Clark, Costco, Asda, Waitrose, Sainsburys, Lidl, Morrisons, Tesco, M&S, Debenhams, Wilsons, Wow Hydrate, Tropical Skin Care, Sodafolk, Howdens, Dukes Head Wallington, AJ Building, Scott Dunn Travel, North Woodcote Green Nurseries and Miller Harris with more coming in every day. Nike have also offered their support, donating around 400 trainers and sports kits!
Joint Medical Director Dr Ruth Charlton, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to offer their support over the past few weeks. Our staff are going above and beyond to protect and care for our patients, keep services running and reduce the risk to the public, fellow colleagues and their loved ones. Of course, our staff will be here for you whatever happens and our commitment to help keeping people safe and as well as possible will not change.
“We are doing as much as we can to make life a little easier for our staff, including offering free parking, additional psychological and health and wellbeing support, and our onsite shops have changed their stock to include fresh vegetables and home essentials, and are offering protected shopping time for staff.
“We have received some very touching messages of support for our staff, as well as some very generous donations and discount offers – these gestures are greatly appreciated by our teams and a great boost to morale in this busy and difficult time. We owe everyone who has already donated, whether big or small, a huge thank you.”
For more information contact the Charity Team at esth.charity@nhs.net.
For more information about the Epsom and St Helier Hospitals Charity (registered charity number 1049197) visit www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/epsom-and-st-helier-hospitals-charity.
Should you wish to, you can donate to our COVID-19 response cause here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ThankYouESTH.
For up-to-date information on the COVID-19 go to: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
