A COMMUNITY fundraiser has raised thousands of pounds to go towards buying hospital staff takeaway meals.
The campaign called 'To Take-Away a Little Stress' hoped to raise £500 to support ICU and critical care staff at Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) with regular takeaways.
The Just Giving page has now raised £7,387 at the time of writing.
The campaign’s founder, Francesca Stanton, said: “The JustGiving page lit up within 24 hours and showed exactly how much people wanted to do something immediate and practical to help our wonderful NHS ICU and critical care staff.”
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After approaching the ICU directly through medical friends working at RBH, Francesca said it appeared pizza deliveries had been an important focal point for staff.
“In the first wave of the pandemic, we were dealing with incredibly stressful situations on a daily basis, dressed in full PPE.
"Those brief moments when we could come together quickly to grab a slice of pizza became a real morale booster,” explained Ian Rechner, Head of the ICU at RBH.
Francesca added: "The purpose of the campaign was simply to find genuine ways of helping these incredible people with something that might marginally improve their day.
"The constant stress these guys are under is just inconceivable, the general public just want to help in any way they can."
The campaign went live last Thursday evening and by the end of the weekend had hit £5,500.
Take-away deliveries to the RBH started five days later on Tuesday.
Francesca revealed: “I was determined to start deliveries as soon as possible and the local Domino’s have helped ensure contactless lunchtime deliveries with a dedicated driver arriving at specific times to suit the staff.
"We hope we can add more range to the Take-Aways over the coming weeks with more varied 'Grab and Go' quality fare.
“We are now working directly with Royal Berkshire ICU staff to identify and support other ways that will directly benefit staff morale and wellbeing over these coming weeks, and have updated our JustGiving Page accordingly.”
Click here if you would like to donate to the campaign.
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