An event held in July last year, to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the NHS, was so successful that it’s being repeated this year.
The Big NHS Tea Party, in the grounds of Darlington Memorial Hospital, on the afternoon of 5th July last year, was just one of a number of celebrations held by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust across its sites. Attended by staff, patients, local residents and others, including MP for Darlington, Jenny Chapman, the garden party raised £1,000 for the Trust’s charity, which supports the Trust through donations and legacies, to deliver a wide range of projects making a difference to patient care and experience.
There’s a national campaign throughout the NHS to ‘do it all again’, so the hospital’s estates and facilities team will once again pull out all the stops to make the day a memorable one, hosting the event on Friday 5th July from 2.00-4.00pm. Not only will they be making hundreds of cupcakes, cups of tea and other goodies to sell, they’ll also be using the traditional outdoor games they made for last year’s event, including a coconut shy, ‘beat the goalie’ and mini golf – all of which proved very popular. There will also be a plant sale. Similar events are planned across the country and the Trust hopes to emulate the celebration at some of its other hospitals across County Durham. It also wants to hear from anyone keen to run their own celebration in aid of the charity.
Charity manager, Pat Chambers, said, “The atmosphere last year was fantastic, so celebratory and a chance to reflect back on the enormous achievements over the last 71 years in bringing excellent care to our patients, embracing new technology, scientific research and ensuring we’re a great place to work for our 7,000 staff. The money raised at these events will certainly make a difference.
“We’re also currently raising money to extend the chemotherapy day unit at University Hospital of North Durham. The treatments now available, plus early diagnosis, have resulted in unprecedented demand on the unit. The new unit will be much more spacious, offering patients the privacy and dignity they need to help them through their treatment.”
“If anyone is interested in becoming a Charity Volunteer or in fundraising for us either in holding a Big Tea event, or in any other way, please ring us on 01325 743781 or email: cddft.charity@nhs.net.”
