Charity delivers hampers to hard working NHS staff at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital

Doctors and nurses at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton received a welcome treat in the form of some beautiful hampers full of goodies donated by the Rockinghorse charity.
Rockinghorse charity hampers SUS-200527-132143001Rockinghorse charity hampers SUS-200527-132143001
Rockinghorse charity hampers SUS-200527-132143001

The hampers were the idea of Challenge Events Manager at Rockinghorse, Lucy Pond, as a way of saying thank you to the medical staff at the specialist hospital for their tireless efforts during the COVID-19 crisis.

We have all seen the enormous effort being given by medical staff around the country and it’s no different at the Alex. Lucy explains; “The current situation is having a big impact on all the services within the NHS, and the effect on the staff and patients at the children’s hospital is no exception.

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“We wanted to thank them for their continued care and support to sick children and their families and whilst this is only a small gesture, we hope that staff are able to enjoy treating themselves – they definitely deserve it.”

The hampers, delivered to the hospital this week, were kindly put together by Caroline Davenport Potter, a chef who founded and runs her own catering business called Davenport events.

Caroline said: “We are proud to work alongside and with the team at Rockinghorse, we love what they do to support not just the children in The Alex but, equally as important, the families of sick children and even the amazing staff, it’s such a wonderful charity to be involved with.”

Along with some lovely pampering products donated by the Body Shop, recipients were treated to a range of delicious treats such as tea from Twining’s and cheese from High Weald Dairy along with a range of homemade treats made by Caroline including soup, scones and brownies.

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Sarah Harding, Director of the High Weald Dairy, explained why she wanted to help: “We support Aidan’s Christmas Dinner Project by providing cheese for families staying in hospital at Christmas, so when Lucy approached us to provide some for the hampers being made up for the hard working doctors and nurses at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, of course we wanted to help.”

Dr Ryan Watkins, Chief of Service at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital said: “Staff at the Alex and Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMB) have continued to provide great care to our young patients under challenging circumstances. The support that Rockinghorse provides to our patients and staff has never been more important than now.

“We’re very grateful to Rockinghorse for their generous donation of hampers which will be a great boost for our staff. Thank you.”

Rockinghorse has been supporting sick and disadvantaged children, babies and young people in Sussex for 53 years. Founded in 1967 by Dr Trevor Mann, he recognised there was a real need for additional resources to improve paediatric healthcare services in Sussex.

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The charity is best-known as the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital (the Alex) in Brighton. It is a vital supporter of the neighbouring Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMBU) and its sister site, the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) based within the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath. In addition, Rockinghorse also supports paediatric wards in hospitals across Sussex, specialist neonatal units, respite centres and children’s services in the county.

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