We are two cyclists from Cornwall IT Services (CITS), Tom Stiles and Brendon James. CITS is part of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust which encompasses the Royal Cornwall Hospital, St Michael’s Hospital and West Cornwall Hospital. We operate the only acute hospital in Cornwall and serve a population of 500,000 people.

In September 2022, we will once again be taking part in the RCHT Charity Team's 'Pedal 4 Patients' charity cycle, riding from Plymouth to Land's End to fund raise for the Paediatric Play Team at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

Whilst children at our hospital receive brilliant care, the units themselves can be stark, uninviting and intimidating for young children with serious illnesses, offering little comfort or distraction. After raising over £7,000 for the team last year, we were inspired to do the same again this year so they can do even more to enhance those spaces for sick children.

The several different paediatric units have told us that they’re in desperate need of decorations such as wall murals, displays, wall-mounted toys and specialised equipment such as portable fibre optic lights for children with additional needs.

They also want to explore the option of using VR headsets to help sick children by letting them ‘see’ the Theatre pre-operatively to help dispel some of the fears that procedures and operations can bring.

They need other distraction items such as toys, books and games consoles for children during procedures where it is vital that they remain still. For a child in traction or receiving chemotherapy this can be a protracted period of time.

With a smaller team this year, our goal is to raise £1,000 but we would love to smash this target.

Some of the money we raise will pay for the cost of our challenge. As a Team we want to raise as much as we can for our chosen fund and taking part in this cycle is a huge challenge for us! We know that the funds we are able to donate will benefit so many of the children that come to our hospital and their families.

We are going to be grafting and training hard, dedicated to raising as much money as possible. With your help we know we can make a real difference. There will definitely be sweat, possibly even some tears (but we hope no blood!) as we eagerly fundraise and train hard to ensure we make it to Land's End and leave a lasting impact on patient care at RCHT.