In December 2021, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Charity ran a campaign to raise some festive cheer and winter warmth. In recognintion of a challenging year where colleagues continued to go above and beyond for patients, our communities and one another, we were happy to announce that our General Purpose Charitable Fund was open for Winter Warmer bids. We gave our colleagues a week to apply for up to £500 to enhance their ward or department, to support patient experience or colleagues' wellbeing.
Debbie Marin-Lewis from the NICU ward applied for £150 to treat the parents that arrive on the ward. Sadly, there were babies spending their Christmas Day in hospital, separated from their family. Unfortunately, the last thing these parents will be thinking about is looking after themselves. Debbie came up with the idea of giving these parents a care package for the day with practical food items as they would have been very limited to food options in the hospital on Christmas Day. Debbie wanted to make this tough time a little special for parents.
Debbie got back in touch with us after Christmas to explain how happy she was to be able to put a little smile on some of the parents' faces. On Christmas Day, one parent and a baby were transferred back to Calderdale after a period of prolonged ventilation. Unfortunately, it's full on when you transfer back, this poor mum arrived at the hospital quite flustered, she admitted that she hadn't eaten all day and needed to express. Thanks to the Winter Warmer campaign, Debbie was able to sort this woman out straight away, the fridge was full of sandwiches, cakes, and crisps with plenty to drink. She was then able to express and settle down with her baby.
Another example of where these care packages helped is when one lady in the hospital couldn't speak much English, she was over the moon when she received a treat bag. Nothing quite says Christmas like sharing and caring. NICU also managed to get Christmas stockings for every baby on the unit which were filled up by Santa. Thanks to Debbie for applying for the funds, we managed to make Christmas 2021 special for our parents.
