In September 2020 I will be setting off to conquer the highest freestanding mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro.   Although its a fantastic personal challenge I am doing it to raise money for Sheffield Children's Hospital.  

So why am I doing it .........

Living in Sheffield with three sons has inevitably resulted in myself and my wife, Jo, spending a fair amount of time in Sheffield Children’s hospital, normally in A&E.  We have been lucky and most issues have turned out to be relatively minor.

Regardless of how serious or minor the issue turned, the attitude, professionalism and ability of the staff has always left us feeling lucky to have such an amazing hospital on our doorstep.  What struck me most of all is that no matter how busy, the way the staff comfort, question and talk with our boys is always fantastic and more often than not leads to the parting comment from any one of them being, “he or she was really nice”.

Over the years I have gradually learned more and more about the amazing work the hospital does and just how far its positive impact reaches.  I find it hard to believe that this amazing hospital in Sheffield is treating and saving the lives of Children from across the UK and indeed in specialist cases from all over the world.

Each year Sheffield Children's NHS Trust cares for more than 51,000 Accident & Emergency admissions.  In 2018, 15% of these arrivals were by air ambulance.  These can only land in daylight hours because there is inadequate lighting in Western Park (where the helicopter currently lands).  This reduces its operation considerably in the winter months which can have a critical impact on getting children to the hospital.

If any of my boys needed to get to the hospital quickly I would want to know the air ambulance was available to help.  I have therefore chosen to support the building of a helipad on-site at the hospital to ensure as many children as possible reach the hospital within the critical "golden hour" after a major trauma.

The new helipad would mean patients can land anytime with flood lighting. When the weather sets in, the new helipad would have electric trace heating incorporated into the deck to ensure that ice and snow do not disrupt the continued use of the facility during periods of inclement weather.

Please donate if you can, every penny really does make a difference!

Thanks so much for your support.