I am taking part in Walk the Test Way for Southampton Hospitals Charity this September with three of my colleagues.

For those of us who live in Salisbury, this is our local ‘big’ hospital, which many of us will access in times of crisis. For me, their cardiology team has helped us with a familial heart condition. When I was pregnant with my eldest son, the Fetal Medicine Unit provided us with great care and specialist scans that were greatly reassuring in a very stressful time. Following his birth, he was then under orthopaedics with their talipes specialist after some less than desirable interactions at our local hospital.

We are planning to walk 12 miles or 16 miles, the final distance is still to be decided but perhaps if I reach my £50 target, I’ll be persuaded to go for the 16!!

Southampton Hospitals Charity works to improve the care and services provided by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. We make grants to support with improving patient care, clinical outcomes, the hospital environment, and pioneering research.

From funding state-of-the-art equipment like a life-saving ultrasound scanner in the Children’s Hospital, to running arts programmes for dementia patients we work to improve outcomes for thousands of patients every year.

Thank you for your support.