Charity launches urgent appeal to help ‘hospital heroes.’

THE Forever Friends Appeal has launched an urgent appeal for donations to help staff at the RUH in Bath get through the coronavirus crisis.

Whilst we are all being asked to stay indoors, work from home, and maintain ‘social distance’ from our friends and family, our amazing NHS staff can’t. They have to be there for us, and for some, this means they won’t see their own families for weeks to protect patients and their own loved ones from the outbreak of the virus.

The charity is looking to support the emotional health and wellbeing of hospital staff by providing ongoing care packages and vital equipment to Critical Care, the Emergency Department teams and the many other wards, departments and staff who are directly affected.

Since the Help Your Hospital Heroes appeal was launched it has already raised almost £10,000. With this, The Forever Friends Appeal has begun purchasing some of the items needed for care packages, as well as looking at other urgent requests from wards and departments. It is working closely with the hospital to ensure it is able to coordinate and deliver support to staff as quickly as possible.

Chief Executive James Scott said: “It is heart-warming to see all the support and acts of kindness already flooding in for our NHS staff in Bath. To everyone that has already contributed – thank you, and to those of you thinking of making a gift, we really value your help in these uncertain times.”

Many local businesses have also kindly donated bulk items to include in the care packages. If you are a local company and also able to help with quantities of over 100, please give The Forever Friends Appeal a call on 01225 825691 to discuss.

For members of the public, the best way to help is to donate online via the charity’s website: www.foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk/hospital-heroes. The government has advised everyone to stay at home, so please do not come to the RUH. All offers of support need to be carefully managed for the safety of staff and patients and due to infection control restrictions, the charity is unable to accept any more physical donations from the general public.