March 2020 - Leicester Hospitals Charity

Announcing The COVID-19 Response Fund

Dear Supporters,

We really need your support, now, more than ever before.

Our colleagues and friends at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General and Glenfield Hospital are on the front line of caring for the extra patients coming through the hospitals’ doors, and for caring for all our patients in these difficult times.

Our amazing staff are working around the clock to care for and protect the most vulnerable members of society in and across the East Midlands. Leicester Hospitals Charity was formed to support patients and staff at our Hospitals, and now more than ever, this support is urgently needed.

This is why we are kick-starting our COVID-19 Response Fund. Please consider adding your gift to the first £5,000 donated by Naresh Popat and the Jalaram Temple, Narborough Road, Leicester. Kindly supported by Manoj Keshavji of More Restaurants.

Your donations will go towards helping us support them in the days and weeks ahead, through care packages, wellness support, and healthy food and refreshments.

We will also direct funds towards areas of greatest need as identified by front line staff across UHL Hospitals, over and above what the NHS is already committed to providing.

I cannot thank you enough for rallying around our hospitals and the NHS at this time. It means the world to us. Any donation, however large or small, will make a lasting difference to our patients and staff at this time.

Thank you,

Lisa Davies
Director of Charity

Home Eddie Entrepreneur Nominated For Lord-Lieutenant Award

James Rimmer, the 14-year-old entrepreneur behind the ‘Home Eddie’ bear initiative supporting our Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, has been nominated for the Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire’s Awards for Young People 2020.

The good news comes in recognition of James setting up his Home Eddie project to help children feel calm and comfortable no matter where they were. With every ‘Home Eddie’ bear sold, a proportion is donated to our Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

James’s efforts have attracted a lot of media attention, including being featured on both BBC and ITV regional news. He even grabbed the attention of World’s Strongest Man champion Eddie Hall – whom the bears are named after – who included James in a video on his popular YouTube channel, reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers.

The Lord-Lieutenant’s Awards for Young People 2020 was originally scheduled to take place at Leicester County Hall on Thursday 30 April. However, the event has understandably been postponed to a future date due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

All of us involved with the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal are delighted for James that his remarkable efforts are being recognised.

We are grateful for everything he has done to show support for children in our hospitals and help us in our mission to give all our children the new dedicated hospital they deserve.

For more information about Home Eddie bears, or to place an order for one, visit HomeEddie.co.uk.

To learn more about the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, or to donate to the appeal, visit DoThemProud.com.

Sam Doubles Down To #DoThemProud After London Marathon Is Postponed

Leicester’s X-Factor winning singing star Sam Bailey says she is even more determined to complete the London Marathon in support of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal after the event was postponed until October.

Sam Bailey had been preparing to run her first ever marathon during next month’s edition of the iconic event, along with husband Craig Pearson, personal trainer Dan Morris and friend Debbie. Due to concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak, London Marathon organisers have postponed the event until Sunday 4 October.

The team had decided to take on the 26.2 mile run around the capital in support of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, raising over £8,000 towards efforts to give the East Midlands its first dedicated children’s hospital in Leicester.

Despite the disappointment of the run being postponed, Sam says she is not letting up in her goal to complete the race in the autumn and raise even more funds for the cause.

“It’s with great sadness that the London Marathon has been postponed until October,” says Sam.

“It is the right decision because of this unbelievable virus. It’s made me and the team even more determined and motivated to support Leicester Hospitals Charity and to do the run in October and raise as much money as possible for the new children’s hospital. We want to do the children of the East Midlands proud. We stand by the staff of our NHS.”

Anyone wishing to donate to Team Sam’s fundraising efforts is encouraged to sponsor them via their Virgin Money Giving page.

The public can also help make the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal a success by visiting DoThemProud.com to donate, sign up as a supporter or learn more about the appeal, or can follow the appeal on Facebook at FB.me/DoThemProud and help spread the word on social media using #DoThemProud.

Construction Work Begins On New Leicester Children's Hospital

A new state-of-the-art dedicated Children’s Hospital for the East Midlands is one step closer to reality after the very first ground beam was laid last Friday at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

The official start of construction for the new dedicated Leicester Children’s Hospital – supported by the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal – was marked by the laying of a ceremonial ground beam at the foundation of the site, alongside the Infirmary’s Kensington Building.

The beam, featuring a commemorative plaque, was laid by Leicester’s Hospitals Chairman Karamjit Singh CBE and Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal Board Chairman, Stephen Woolfe.

“It’s a great privilege to be present at the laying of the ground beam of the first phase of our new children’s hospital,” says Karamjit Singh.

“This marks the movement of our East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre to this building, which we envisage should be completed by the end of this year. It’s also important for us to have the support of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, which has a number of local dignitaries who are very much involved in it.

“We hope that the local community sees this as something that they can really identify with.”

Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal chairman, Stephen Woolfe, hailed the important milestone and urges local people and businesses to get behind the appeal and help reach the £7.5million target.

“All of us involved with this important project are delighted that construction has begun on the new Leicester Children’s Hospital,” says Stephen.

“The millions of pounds in donations we have received already show how much the people of Leicestershire and the wider East Midlands care about giving all of our children the new hospital they deserve. We are deeply grateful to all of the families, businesses and community groups who have already contributed towards helping us get to this point.

“Now we call on everyone who believes the East Midlands should have its first dedicated children’s hospital to support, donate to and fundraise for the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal and help make this into a reality.”

Other Appeal Board members present at the ceremony included Tim Maxted Owner, Chairman and CEO of Berkeley Insurance Group – Andrew Granger, Founder of Andrew Granger & Co – Dr Vijay Sharma, Trustee and NED for various organisations – Zuffar Haq MBE, health campaigner – Robin Graham-Brown, Emeritus Consultant – Sir Laurence Howard KCVO OBE and Ballu Patel, NED of UHL NHS Trust.

Thanks also go to David Tams from the Edith Murphy Foundation and MTX Construction.

Anyone wanting to contribute towards making the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal a success can visit DoThemProud.com to donate, sign up as a supporter or learn more about the appeal, or can follow the appeal on Facebook at FB.me/DoThemProud and help spread the word on social media using #DoThemProud.

Paris Abseils To Support Children’s Hospital Appel Ten Years After Cancer Diagnosis

A Physician Associate Student who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer as a teen ten years ago is abseiling down the same hospital she credits with saving her life to raise money for a new children’s hospital in Leicester.

Paris Tompkins, 24, a Physician Associate Student at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, is abseiling down the site’s Windsor Building to raise money for the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal to help secure a new state-of-the-art dedicated children’s hospital for the East Midlands.

Paris, who received treatment as an outpatient at the LRI after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 14, says it’s important for both her and her family to support the children’s hospital that she is proud to now be working in.

“This year marks ten years since I was first diagnosed,” says Paris. ”As a family, we all thought we should try and raise a bit of money to recognise that.”

Paris was diagnosed August 2010 after months of tests at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, before undergoing surgery followed by months of further treatment between hospitals in London and Leicester.

“This time ten years ago, I would’ve been going through all the tests and then coming back here to the LRI and at Children’s Outpatients every week,” Paris explains.

“At 15, you obviously have other priorities on your mind than cancer. But it obviously it had a major impact on my family. They understood what it meant for my future.”

Paris says her experience in hospital and her positive impression of the clinical staff had a profound impact on her choosing to pursue a medical career of her own.

“From every nurse to every doctor I met, they made sure that my family and I were always well informed about everything that was happening,” she says. “They made sure things were turned around quickly – it was just a week between my diagnosis and my surgery.

“I always wanted to be part of the NHS, but having been in hospital for so long and having gone through the system as a patient, it made me realise that I wanted to work here in the future. I’m working with consultants now who used to be my consultant. So it’s nice to evolve into that role. It’s also nice to know that if I go to talk to a parent of a patient on the children’s ward, I know what it’s like.”

With the appeal helping to create the first dedicated children’s hospital in the East Midlands, Paris is determined to help bring a state-of-the-art new facility to Leicester.

“I know what this hospital was like a decade ago. I’ve seen over ten years how it’s improved a lot, but having everything together under one roof would make it easier for families. It would take the pressure off from having to travel to different hospitals. I know how hard that was for me.

“You look at Birmingham Children’s Hospital – everyone knows it. It’s a flagship hospital. I think for us to have one here in Leicester would help so much. Everyone knows someone who is going through the hospital system, who’s had contact with the Children’s Hospital. If your child ever needed it, you’d want them to get the best possible care. For us all to be able to have that on our front door is a big motivator.”

Paris is among over 100 people who will be scaling 100ft down the side of the Windsor Building of the Leicester Royal Infirmary on the weekend of 28th-29th March to raise money for the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

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