We’ve been marking the NHS’s 75th birthday in style this week, with fundraising activities in aid of our VIN Appeal – for Victoria Infirmary, Northwich (VIN).
This week marked 75 years of the National Health Service, since its establishment in 1948 as the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery!
We joined NHS charities across the country by celebrating NHS 75 with the NHS Big Tea – encouraging supporters to host their own Big Tea parties to mark the occasion and raise funds for the charity.
Over 40 Big Tea parties were hosted by colleagues across Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and people and businesses in our local community over the last week.
We were also joined by The Tea Ladies, Jodie and Chloe from Cheshire Dance who performed for patients at Leighton Hospital on Wednesday!
Funds raised through this year’s Big Tea tea parties, and our Big Tea Raffle will go to our VIN Appeal, which aims to raise £100,000 to fund a state-of-the-art children’s waiting room at Victoria Infirmary Northwich. The waiting area will feature a high-tech interactive floor projector and sensory play wall fixed activity units, and provide a safe, calming environment to help children and those accompanying them to the hospital relax – during what can be a stressful time.
Last year we funded similar projectors and sensory equipment for the new Emergency Care Children’s Department at Leighton Hospital, and this has already had an extremely positive impact on children who have since visited.
Emma Robertson, Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity Manager, said: “We’re delighted that so many of our colleagues and members of our local communities joined us in celebrating NHS Big Tea Day last week. We’ve had such lovely comments from people who said they had a great time holding tea parties, raffles, and other activities to raise funds for our appeal. The amount raised will get us that much closer to being able to start work to improve the environment at Victoria Infirmary for our young patients”
A huge thank you to everyone who got involved in our celebrations this week, and helped us mark the NHS’s 75th Birthday with such a memorable day and week!