Grass-roots Initiative Supports Frontline NHS Staff

One local Solihull-based family have launched a grass-roots initiative to support staff on the front line caring for patients infected by COVID-19 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Amanda Rees, whose husband Gerwyn is a Consultant Anaesthetist at the hospital and is working across the ITUs (Intensive Treatment Units), was aware of the plight of NHS staff working long shifts at the hospital caring for patients and unable to have time to access food supplies. Along with her son Caiden, who attends Eversfield Preparatory School in Solihull, they started collecting donations of snacks and drinks, and as word of the initiative has spread, they have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the community’s donations.

Commenting on the response, Amanda said: “All the donations will make a huge difference to the staff at the hospital working long shifts caring for the surge of patients. The response has been amazing: it is a small but really meaningful way we can show our heartfelt support to the medical staff in the NHS.”

Hearing of the initiative, Newlands Bishop Farm, which gives people with learning disabilities and mental health problems the opportunity to learn work-based skills, have teamed up and offered to use their continuing food deliveries and professional kitchens to cook and prepare hot food to also deliver to staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Birmingham Heartlands Hospital.