Right now, people working in the NHS are under huge pressure. You can help to support those staff who care for us when we need it most, day and night here in Surrey and Sussex.
By supporting our NHS staff welfare campaign, you will help do three things initially:
1. Create a new staff room for the 300 staff who work in the Emergency Department at East Surrey Hospital, so they have somewhere comfortable to take a break or to change in/out of work scrubs, with a new courtyard so they can step outside for fresh air during long, difficult shifts.
2. Provide small hardship grants to NHS staff facing urgent financial hardship. Allowing us to directly help staff in an urgent financial crisis.
3. You will help us support other ideas from staff which help support their welfare, and by extension, their ability to deliver great care for patients and families. You will help us say yes to ideas from staff which enhance facilities across Surrey & Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust for staff, as well as for patients, and families.
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We want to raise £100,000 to build a brand new staff room and refurbished courtyard for the c300 staff who work in the Emergency Department at East Surrey Hospital.
The department operates 24 hours a day, every day. Dealing with life threatening emergencies faced by people in Surrey and Sussex. In a typical day, up to 100 blue light emergency ambulances arrive, alongside people arriving with loved ones or walking in having experienced a medical emergency.
The current staff room is dated, with very worn facilities. There's no access to outdoor space for fresh air despite being next to a courtyard, and changing facilities, storage, and comfortable seating/rest spaces are minimal.
Your donations will help us transform the staff room for those people who save lives in the ED every single day and night. You will help us remove old, tired furnishings and an old kitchen, and to provide brand new custom fitted furnishings, a new kitchen area, a new changing cubicle for staff, and new décor throughout, creating a much nicer environment for staff working in this incredibly demanding environment.
Alongside this, a new doorway will be created, providing access to a (currently inaccessible) courtyard, so the team are able to step outside into some fresh air. Your donations will help repair the courtyard and provide additional outdoor seating for the staff.
The new staff room and courtyard will make a huge difference for the people who are there for us when we most need it.
Our hospitals have c6,000 staff. The NHS provides a range of support, locally and nationally for people who find themselves in challenging financial circumstances. Full details are available to staff on the Trust intranet wellbeing hub, and this includes signposting to expert help from organisations including the Citezens Advice Bereau.
Despite this, from time to time, we know some staff find themselves in extremely challenging financial situations. Thanks to your support, our new hardship fund means we can from time to time provide very direct help to a member of staff in the form of a small financial hardship grant. It's possible for people to donate directly to the staff hardship fund (here). Or by supporting our staff welfare campaign, you'll be helping deliver the new emergency department staff room, contribute to the hardship fund, as well as helping to support other staff wellbeing priorities in the coming months.
Thank you for your support - you are directly helping the people who help us when we need it most.
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