Newham Hospital staff are encouraging people to support Barts Charity’s Christmas appeal and ensure every patient spending the festive season in one of the trust’s hospitals receives a gift.
The charity is also aiming to raise enough money to provide hampers for staff in each of the five hospitals Barts Charity supports - Newham, Whipps Cross, The Royal London, Mile End and St Bartholomew’s - as thanks for their hard work in a challenging year.
Funke Bella, a senior radiologist at Newham Hospital, said: “Coronavirus has made 2020 a really difficult year for me professionally because I have had to work on the front line, looking after very ill patients daily.
“Being at Newham Hospital over Christmas where your relatives can’t gather round your bed, it’s going to break people’s hearts and it’s going to be really difficult to do Christmas properly.
“Donations will go a very long way to putting a big smile on people’s faces. Imagine on Christmas morning, and the members of staff hand over a present to patients and they open it, can you just imagine the big smiles on their faces?”
She is among several staff members featuring in an ad campaign promoting the appeal at bus stops around Newham and at Plaistow station.
Colleague Giuseppe Labriola, the associate director of midwifery and nursing, said: “It’s been a challenging year, but I think what’s really come out is the spirit of teamworking and camaraderie in the local community and hospital.
“At a time when visiting is restricted and the need for connection between families and friends is even greater, giving a patient a present on Christmas Day will really brighten their day, and let someone know that they’re thought of.”
Fiona Miller Smith, chief executive of Barts Charity, added: “We have been immensely proud of the people of east London, who rallied around our NHS workers during the first peak of the pandemic and helped us raise record amounts to support the fight against Covid.
“We hope east Londoners will once again show their generous spirit and help us bring a little festive joy to our hospitals during another challenging period.”
To find out more about the appeal or to make a donation, visit bartscharity.org.uk/Christmas or call 020 7618 1720.
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