THE HEALTH TREE FOUNDATION LAUNCHES WITH THE BIG THANK YOU APPEAL

Residents across the area are being urged to say a ‘Big Thank You’ to the staff who have gone the extra mile to care for them or their families while in our hospitals.

We are calling on people to tell us about their local NHS heroes who work for Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust who have shone in delivering high-quality patient-centered care, whether that person is a doctor, nurse, midwife, porter, cleaner, therapist or volunteer.

This is part of the Trust’s launch on Monday November 2 of its new charity the Health Tree Foundation, which aims to simplify how people can donate money to the Trust as well as streamline how people can apply to spend charitable funds.

Trust chairman Dr Jim Whittingham said: “As we launch the new Health Tree Foundation we are calling on members of the public to say thank-you to the nurse, doctor, surgeon, cleaner, porter, physiotherapist or any other member of staff who has made a difference to their care by supporting the ‘Big Thank You’.

“It could be the secretary in the corridor who has helped guide you to the clinic, the doctor who helped care for your loved one, the person who brought you a drink and delivered it with a smile every time, basically anyone you feel stood out from the norm and is your NHS hero.”

The Big Thank You is one of 16 new zones that have been created within the Health Tree Foundation, amalgamating the previous 151 different charitable pots of cash. The aim is for people to raise money for any of the 16 funding pots and for staff and members of the public to submit ‘wishes’ to the charity for things that will benefit patients at Scunthorpe, Grimsby or Goole hospitals or community services run by the Trust.

Anyone can support The Big Thank You in the following ways:

·         By posting a thank you message to The Health Tree Foundation at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Scartho Road, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire DN33 2BA.

·         Tweeting us your message of thanks using the #BigThankYouNHS @HealthTree_NLAG

·         Posting a thank you message on the Health Tree Foundation’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/healthtreefoundation #BigThankYouNHS

·         People can make donations to the Big Thank You appeal here.

Charitable donations help to provide the extras such as innovative pieces of equipment, helping refurbish rooms and bays so they are dementia friendly, providing low level beds to reduce the risk of falls or giving the relatives room a lick of paint – all of which can improve the patient and visitor experience.

Charity manager Andrew Barber, who has been working with the Trust in helping to launch the Health Tree Foundation, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for the Trust as it creates a new and exciting way for people to get involved in charitable funds.

“It always amazes me how generous local people are as the Trust receives charitable donations on a daily basis. The Big Red Heart Appeal, the Bottoms Up Appeal and the Pink Rose Suite are just three areas where hundreds of thousands of pounds have poured in from generous local people and businesses wanting to improve patients’ lives.”

The Health Tree Foundation will work with local people and businesses wanting to raise money, as well as those who have a ‘wish’ as to how charitable funds could improve or enhance the services on offer to patients.

The Health Tree Foundation is also encouraging the community across Northern Lincolnshire and Goole to get behind the Big Thank You by hosting a Big Thank You event, from traditional coffee mornings, dress down days, fundraising challenges or choosing the Health Tree Foundation as your charity for the busy Christmas period or charity of the year for 2016.