Every year nearly 500 babies need special care from East Surrey Hospital at the very start of their lives.

Many are very small, fitting in the palm of your hand . Some need to stay in hospital for months before they are well enough to go home.

We are building a brand new unit so they can get the very best care.

Run Reigate on 15 September for the hospital, and help us raise funds for state-of-the-art equipment and better facilities for their families.

We can provide free race entry (in return for achieving minimum sponsorship amounts) for the half marathon, 10k, 5k, and the kids race (min age 4), alongside help to promote your fundraising, and a (free of charge) charity t-shirt or running vest.

The background

Over 4,500 local families have babies each year at East Surrey Hospital, or under the care of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH).

Approximately one in ten of these arrive prematurely or require intensive care. These babies and their families are cared for in the neonatal intensive care / special care unit at East Surrey Hospital. Babies as young as 27 weeks and their families are often in the unit for weeks, or sometimes months, until the baby is well enough to go home.

Alongside a major investment by the NHS, we need your support to help transform care for these premature or very unwell babies, and for their mums and dads

The challenge

The current neonatal intensive care unit at East Surrey Hospital is restricted in its capacity, which has an impact on the number of babies we can care for at any one time, and the comfort of the families under the care of the unit.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH) is investing to transform this.

The Trust is moving a number of services into a brand new building, so that it can expand the neonatal unit in the hospital.

This will create a modern space with significantly enhanced facilities. The new unit will have more space around each baby's intensive care cot, additional capacity so more families can be cared for here, as well as new, modern rooms for families to use, away from the bedside.

Help us go even further

Alongside this fantastic new facility, we want to help the clinical teams go further for families.

Your support will provide an enhanced level of equipment for the unit, beyond what would be expected in a local hospital, alongside improved facilities for families to spend comfortable time away from the clinical environment.

We think this is a great idea, but we can only do this with your help.

What difference will your support make?

You will have a direct impact for patients and families here at East Surrey Hospital by:

1. Providing additional state of the art equipment, including a number of top of the range neonatal incubators (£20,000 each), for the new unit. These enhance the comfort of the baby, through enhanced temperature control, lighting, and the use of sounds. They also allow easier contact between mums & dads and the baby, at this critical time for the family.

2. Creating a more comfortable environment for families in the unit at a crucial time. Your donations will help to enhance the facilities in our new family rooms, giving families a relaxing space away from the clinical environment, while remaining close by.

Running for the neonatal unit at East Surrey Hospital will have a direct impact for local families. Thank you!