William Harvey Hospital in Ashford has received a donation of £1500 from local housebuilder Barratt Homes, who is building its Chilmington Green development on Hedger’s Way, just outside of Ashford.
The donation will be shared equally between the Maternity Bereavement Suite, the Child Health Appeal for the Padua Ward playroom, and the Helping Your Hospitals Appeal.
The hospital currently has only one Maternity Bereavement Suite, which provides a safe space for parents who have been bereaved following childbirth. It gives them a comfortable area to make use of a ‘cold cot’ to spend as much time with their baby as they would like. The donation will go towards building another suite, helping the hospital to continue to provide this vital emotional support.
The donation will also be used by the Child Health appeal to fund a new playroom at the Padua Ward, as the old playroom is now inappropriate for use due to COVID precautions. The hospital will use the donation to buy new toys for the children to play with, helping to support their recovery.
The Helping Your Hospitals Appeal is doing vital work to raise funds for staff wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic, including Walkie Talkies and magnifying glasses to aid communication when wearing PPE, DAB radios for isolation wards, fridges for staff wearing PPE to store cold drinks, toiletries for staff who are showering at the end of their shift and health snacks to fuel staff in ITU wards and theatres. The donation is much needed and will help the hospital to continue to support its staff during such challenging times.
Danielle Neligan, Fundraising and Development Officer for East Kent Hospitals Charity, commented: “It has been particularly challenging during the impact of Covid-19 to support our patients and staff, so we are very grateful to Barratt Kent for its donation and to be able to use this money to help improve the facilities in the hospital, which in turn really makes a difference for our patients and staff.”
Natalie Perry, Sales and Marketing Director for Barratt Kent, commented: “We hope that our donation helps to support the dedicated staff and the patients at the William Harvey Hospital. We are determined to support the communities in which we build, and we are so pleased to contribute to the amazing work the hospital does in any way we can.”
For further information about Barratt Kent’s Chilmington Green development, please visit the website at www.barratthomes.co.uk or call 0333 355 8502.