{"id":21023,"date":"2021-02-02T12:03:13","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T12:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=523598"},"modified":"2021-02-02T12:03:13","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T12:03:13","slug":"hampers-for-heroes-doctors-plea-inspires-thousands-of-donations-to-nhs-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/02\/hampers-for-heroes-doctors-plea-inspires-thousands-of-donations-to-nhs-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Hampers for Heroes: doctor\u2019s plea inspires thousands of donations to NHS staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

A social enterprise is delivering thousands of pounds\u2019 worth of treats to help lift the spirits of healthcare workers in the West Midlands, inspired by one doctor\u2019s emotional appeal for support.<\/p>\n

Big donations<\/h5>\n

Hampers for Heroes, which is run by Victoria Hanson, 44, a management consultant from Solihull, has delivered supplies to more than 20,000 health and social care staff in the region since the pandemic began.<\/p>\n

A further \u00a37,000 has already been raised since the latest appeal in January to support ICU staff, along with \u201chuge amounts of physical donations\u201d from the community.<\/p>\n

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\"Victoria
Victoria Hanson with some donated items (Handout\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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She said:<\/p>\n

This appeal is really about ICU staff. It\u2019s trying to think through in priority terms who are the worst affected in terms of their wellbeing and mental health.<\/p>\n

We want to keep supporting NHS and key workers with the mental health toll, which we all know is going to be significant. We can all see on TV the strain on ICU staff, and having to deal with death at that kind of level every day is just horrendous, frankly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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“Exhausted”<\/h5>\n

In January, the Hampers for Heroes Facebook group shared a message it had received from an anonymous ICU doctor at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham asking for help keeping coffee rooms stocked and putting together wellbeing packs for staff.<\/p>\n

The doctor told Hanson staff were \u201cexhausted\u201d, adding:<\/p>\n

This has been going on since March and there hasn\u2019t really been any reprieve. We have already lost a lot of staff to burnout, and yet it is still not over. I normally love my job and what I do, so to run out of the hospital and drive home in floods of tears is unusual for me, and sadly it was not just me like this. We need help now, not in six months\u2019 time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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