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This autumn, a series of charity funded projects across Norfolk and Waveney will start to benefit communities recovering from the pandemic, thanks to a national grant of nearly £500,000 from NHS Charities Together.

At a local level, the Norfolk Community Foundation has been working with grass roots organisations to use the two-year funding towards a series of projects, with finances administered by the Norfolk & Norwich Hospitals Charity on behalf of the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System.

Local NHS organisations have been working together to ensure the projects meet health needs with the aim of protecting the most vulnerable from Covid-19, supporting people with mental health issues related to the pandemic and promoting healthier communities.

Earlier in the year, bids were encouraged from across Norfolk and Waveney with ten organisations being selected to run projects covering support for older people, vulnerable communities and those with physical and mental health issues.

The successful projects will be run by Caring Together, EPIC Norfolk, DIAL Great Yarmouth, Age UK Norwich, Menscraft, New Routes, Norfolk & Waveney Mind, Norfolk Deaf Association, The Big C, and the Magdalene Group.

Ellie Orton OBE, Chief Executive of NHS Charities Together, said: “With our health service facing its most difficult winter ever, ongoing support for the NHS has never been more important. And because healthcare doesn’t begin and end in hospital, we are so proud to be working in partnership with our members to deliver additional support in local communities.

“These projects will create meaningful health benefits for people across Norfolk and Waveney – including addressing mental health needs and protecting groups most affected by COVID-19. Together, we can help the NHS go further and achieve better health and care for us all.”

Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt, Chair-designate of Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System and the new NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) which is set to become a statutory body in April 2022, said: “We are very grateful to NHS Charities Together for this generous amount which is great news for the people of Norfolk and Waveney. The pandemic has impacted all of us, but people in our community who are vulnerable and the community charities who support them have been hit particularly hard.

“This is a great example of how health and social care, voluntary groups and charities can work in partnership to make a real difference to the lives of local people.”

John Paul Garside, Director of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals Charity, says: “We are delighted to be supporting this important work to help the vulnerable communities in Norfolk and Waveney.  Our hospitals have seen at first hand the devastation that the pandemic has brought to people’s health and we want to do everything we can to support the recovery.”

Claire Cullens, Chief Executive of Norfolk Community Foundation, says: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, our fantastic charities and community groups have been the glue that has held communities together and offered a vital lifeline to many, helping people to cope day to day, or with an urgent response to sudden crisis. We’re proud to champion their innovation and determination as they continue to tackle the physical and psychological impact of a global crisis.”

Kathryn Ellis, Executive Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Responsible Officer for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Assembly, Norfolk & Waveney Integrated Care System, said: “Through this investment we have an opportunity to test new approaches to deliver health and care and embed the prevention agenda into the heart of our integrated care system. Over the next 2 years, we will have opportunity to illustrate how health and social care partners can work collaboratively with VCSE colleagues in support of our most vulnerable communities”.

Chair of the Norfolk and Waveney VCSE Assembly, Emma Ratzer commented how positive the funding was for our integrated care system’s partnerships, saying: “This funding is a very exciting opportunity to further demonstrate the benefits the voluntary sector provides to individuals and communities, whilst concurrently forging new relationships and understanding with system partners. This fund will work to the strengths of our local VCSE sector to support those who are most affected by the pandemic and where possible help prevent further impact on individuals health and wellbeing.”

Notes to editors

Details of the projects funded:

Age UK Norwich is leading a pilot to enhance the NHS Social Prescribing delivery within Norwich, specifically to support older people to improve their physical or mental health.

Dial Gt Yarmouth is working in partnership with Great Yarmouth Borough Council, East Suffolk District Council and James Paget Hospital, seeks to provide supportive and preventative non-medical support to those who are awaiting elective orthopaedic surgery and are at risk of worsening physical and mental health.

EPIC Norfolk is finding a new way of supporting patients to rehabilitate in the community following discharge from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Menscraft will be supporting men who are waiting for a range of clinical interventions, especially mental health, through engaging in positive activities provided by weekly local pop up Pit Stops.

New Routes will be employing a new Health and Wellbeing Coordinator to support asylum seekers, recently resettled refugees and other ethnic minorities through promoting social inclusion and preventing people from becoming socially excluded.

Norfolk and Waveney Mind will be offering a nature-based, physical activities programme in across Norfolk and Waveney to establish self-sustaining running and walking groups for those experiencing or at risk of poor mental health because of the impact of the pandemic.

Norfolk Deaf Association will be using the Cuppa Care mobile facility, which is equipped with a range of information and facilities for making refreshments, from which members of staff and volunteers will engage with the local community, providing a listening ear, appropriate support, information and advice.

The Big C will pilot a 12-week nutrition and physical activity programmes for cancer patients aimed at lifestyle and behavioural change, including advice on healthy eating, weight management and “mood and food”, plus health walks for mental Wellbeing and cooking demonstrations.

The Magdalene Group will fund a specialist Women’s Worker to be based within the Doorways Womens Project and will form trusting relationships to deliver a range of support including 1:1 sessions and advocacy, street outreach, prison support and COVID-19 and other healthcare awareness.

Caring Together will address an unmet need for a counselling service in the system focused primarily on carers and recent former carers. The project will prevent carer crisis and breakdown by providing a professional counselling and talking therapy service.

About NHS Charities Together

NHS Charities Together is the national, independent charity caring for the NHS. We support a network of 240 NHS charities and, together, provide the extra help needed in hospitals, health boards, and ambulance, community, and mental health trusts across the UK.

We’re here to support the people of the NHS, in every part the country, every day of the week. And we make sure funds get to exactly where they are needed and will make the most impact.

To date, NHS Charities Together has allocated £140 million in a range of projects supporting NHS charities, staff, patients and volunteers. These include counselling services, helplines, and intensive psychological support for NHS staff, plus patient focused initiatives like training for emergency responders, research into long COVID, and specialist equipment. And we’re investing in projects that make access to healthcare more equal – so the best of NHS care is available to everyone, both now and in the future.

But the NHS is facing the most challenging time in its history – and NHS resources have their limits. With pressures on services mounting, our support has never been more vital. Together, we can help the NHS go further and achieve better health and care for us all.

To find out more visit www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk

The annual appeal to give every patient at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital a gift on Christmas Day has been launched.

Each year, the N&N Hospitals Charity’s Send a Smile with Santa appeal collects more than 1,000 presents kindly donated by the members of the public and businesses across Norfolk.

These are then distributed to patients, both young and old, who will spend Christmas in hospital and are unable to celebrate at home with their families.

This year, the charity is asking people who would like to give a present to a patient, to either purchase an item from the list below and drop it off at the hospital or make a small donation online at our website which could then be used by the charity to purchase a gift.

All gifts must be new and unwrapped and can be dropped off from now until 5 December at the hospital’s West Inpatients Reception Desk which is open 24/7 or at the Charity Hub East Atrium Monday to Friday 9-4pm.

Suitable gifts for adults are:

• Toiletry gift sets (male and female)
• Colouring Books for Adults
• Puzzle Books for Adults
• Flavoured Teas
• Boxes of Chocolates or Boxes of Biscuits
• Gift Drink Mug

For children and young people:

• Lego for girl/boys
• Items suitable for babies – 18 months old
• Items for 18 months – 5 years
• Gifts for teenagers including fidget toys or other suitable items
• Sensory toys for children with complex needs

Louise Cook, Head of Fundraising, said: “Send a Smile is now in its sixth year and each year we are so grateful for the wonderful gifts given to us which we know make a huge difference to our patients. We know that people have been fantastic supporting the NHS through the pandemic and we are asking you again to help us make Christmas special for those patients in hospital on Christmas Day. If you are purchasing an item please do look at the list as this has been put together or consider making a donation which we will use to purchase a present. For example, £5 could help us to buy a toiletries’ gift set which will be wrapped up and given out on Christmas morning.”

If you would like to support Christmas at the hospital, please make a donation here www.nnhospitalscharity.org.uk

For more information about the work of the hospital charity go to www.nnhospitalscharity.org.uk or email fundraising@nnuh.nhs.uk or call 01603 287107

Ninety-two-year-old Margaret Seaman, Norfolk’s own Queen of Knitting, has raised over £18,000 so far for charity appeals at the county’s three main hospitals with her huge, woolly model of Sandringham House.

This week the great-great-grandmother, who made headlines around the world with her textile masterpiece, held a knit-in with bosses from the Norfolk and Norwich in Norwich, the Queen Elizabeth in Kings Lynn and the James Paget in Great Yarmouth.

Margaret’s needles hardly ever stop and she gave an impromptu knitting lesson to hospital representatives who had gathered at The Forum to thank her for her hard work and dedication.

Margaret’s huge model of the royals’ Norfolk residence was on show at the real Sandringham House this summer and was seen by many thousands of people, including the Queen herself. Before that it was a centrepiece of the Norfolk Makers Festival Showcase at The Forum, in Norwich.

The irrepressible charity knitter, from Caistor, near Yarmouth, said, “I still really can’t believe how much attention my knitting has been getting and how much people loved seeing the model while I was at Sandringham and at The Forum.

“People have been so generous showing their appreciate with donations and I’m delighted that so much money has been raised for local hospitals and local people.”

At the ‘knit in’ at The Forum this week, cash donations made while the Knitted Sandringham was on public display was officially handed over. Margaret continues to raise money for the three hospitals on her Just Giving page, Margaret Knits for Norfolk.

Lynn Crombie, from the N&N Hospitals Charity, said: “We were delighted that Margaret decided to use her talents to support the hospitals in our region and to donate to the N&N Hospitals Charity Boudicca Breast Cancer Appeal, which is supporting patients at our hospital thanks to a dedicated breast cancer unit. On behalf of everyone at the N&N, we would like to thank Margaret and all those generous people who donated.”

Sandringham is not Margaret’s first project, and the recent fundraising is just a fraction of what Margaret has achieved over the past five years. In total her incredible knitted installations have raised tens of thousands for local charities.

Margaret first started making headlines and raising money when she created a twelve foot long, knitted model of Great Yarmouth Sea Front in its 1970s hey-day, a centre piece at the Norfolk Makers Festival in 2019. She also created the ‘NHS Knittingale’ during the national lockdown in 2020.

Photo caption

From left: Yvonne Christley – Deputy Chief Nurse, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Professor Steve Barnett – Chairman, Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Seaman, Maxine Taylor – Charity Co-ordinator, James Paget, Arne Juette, Director of Breast Cancer Screening, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

We are so excited to announce that the Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals Charity will be a Charity Partner for the 2022 London Landmarks Half Marathon (LLHM) taking place on Sunday, April 3.

What’s more, we have managed to secure 25 coveted places and are offering you the chance to run through the closed streets of London, raising money for our Charity. Now in its fourth year, the LLHM is not your average half marathon – from cultural landmarks to the city’s quirky hidden secrets, you will get to take in through the capital on a route like no other.

You will join thousands of other runners at 9.30am on Pall Mall, and finishing by Downing Street, taking in 13.2 miles of London’s most iconic landmarks including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Nelson’s Column, the Gherkin, the Shard, the Tower of London and the London Eye.

As 2022 marks the start of our 250^th year celebrations, runners must pledge to raise a minimum of £250 (excluding Gift Aid) and pay a non-refundable £30 registration fee.

In return, we will provide you with fundraising help and materials and a free running top to wear during training and on race day. We can also promote your fundraising events via our own social media channels and website. Every penny you raise for the N&N Hospitals Charity helps enhance the care we give our patients, supports staff and funds state-of-the-art equipment.

You have until Friday, November 5 to email us at fundraising@nnuh.nhs.uk to apply for a place and selection of runners will take place before Monday, November 12.

Please include: Why you would like a place on the LLHM N&N Hospitals Charity Team, how you plan to raise the £250 minimum, any previous fundraising you have done.

Cromer & District Hospital will be hosting a community open day on Saturday 16 October so members of the public can visit the new North Norfolk Macmillan Cancer Centre, which has been made possible due to donations from the public and three charities – Macmillan Cancer Support, the Norfolk & Norwich Hospitals Charity, and the Cromer Community and Hospital Friends.

The day, which will run from 10:00 to 13:00hrs, it is free to attend with free parking on site during that day and will offer visitors the chance to see the new £4.85million centre which has been created from the old Davidson Ward Block at the hospital to give state of the art facilities for patients undergoing chemotherapy or other treatments.

Visitors will also be able to see the new bespoke artwork created by local artist Eloise O’Hare which has been incorporated in the design to produce a suitable environment for those attending the centre.

There is no need to book for the day but we do ask that all visitors wear a mask and sanitise their hands on entry to the hospital property signed North Norfolk Macmillan Cancer Centre, following NHS guidance for healthcare property.

The new facility opened for patients on 13 September.

Notes for Editors
The N&N Hospitals Charity has put £1.8m into funding the build, Macmillan Cancer Support £2.2m, and funding for the equipment has also been provided by the Cromer Community and Hospital Friends with a £600,000 donation. This new cancer unit will have five treatment chairs, enabling an additional 2,000 chemotherapy treatments each year, plus space for the Acute Oncology Service which supports patients with cancer who have complications or symptoms related to their cancer or its treatment. There is also a patient support and information centre run by Macmillan. The new unit will also free up space in the main Cromer Hospital building to deliver extra surgical procedures.

The N&N Hospitals Charity is delighted to announced the winners of the 2021 Charity Champion Awards.

Our annual award programme seeks to thank members of our community, including schools, young people, businesses and members of staff for going over and above in support of our hospitals in their own unique way.

Once again, choosing the winners was a difficult task and we would choose every one of our supporters if we could, but we are delighted to reveal our 2021 winners:

Charity Champion Inspiration Award

James Barham raised almost £30,000 for Mulbarton Ward James Barham in the months that followed his diagnosis for acute myeloid leukaemia just weeks after his first child Charlie was born.

Despite the gruelling treatment, James inspired 1,000 people across the world to made a donation, raising almost £30,000 for our cancer teams

Charity Champion Community Award

Costessey Eagles Under 10s football team ran the distance from the home of Norwich City FC to the Liverpool FC ground raising £1,600

The team of 12 players, Deacon, Elliot, Isaac, James, Kai, Kido, Louie, Oskar, Riley D and Riley F, Rudy and Samuel, completed the 300km from Carrow Road to Anfield in a month.

Young Person’s Charity Champion Award

Paige Buckingham has raised more than £1,000 for the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital where she has been treated for the past two years for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis condition.

Eight-year-old Paige is a baker in the making and has raised money selling her cakes and we hope to see her one day on the Great British Bake Off .

Gabriella Catlin raised £600 for the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital where she was treated as a youngster. Eight-year-old Gabriella made wonderful tie-dye t-shirts which she sold during lockdown 2020.

Tallulah Pettit, 12, raised £400 in appreciation of the care and support that NICU provided. Tallulah’s unborn sister was diagnosed with a rare condition that meant she needed extensive treatment and care after her birth.

Xavier Oates raised more than £1,000 walking 10 kilometres – the distance from his home in Taverham to his Nanny’s house in Hellesdon and back. Nine-year-old Xavier wanted to support our Covid 19 appeal and in doing so, bagged himself a coveted Blue Peter badge and letter from the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk.

Paige Buckingham has raised more than £1,000 for the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital where she has been treated for the past two years for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis condition.

Eight-year-old Paige is a baker in the making and has raised money selling her cakes and we hope to see her one day on the Great British Bake Off .

Charity Champion Staff Award

Senior Operating Department Practitioner Kate Didwell and Operating Department Practitioner Hannah Hembry-Pearson raised £3,430 for the Boudicca Breast Cancer Appeal by shaving their heads.

Kate and Hannah work in the plastic reconstructive theatres where their work supports reconstructive procedures for patients following breast cancer.

Charity Champion Director’s Award

The late Brian Garrad raised almost £4,000 during the first national lockdown in May 2020 after plans to take part in VE Day celebrations at Buckingham Palace were cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Garrad, who served with the 120th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment during the WWII, walked 70 laps of his garden, despite having COPD.

We were saddened to hear that Mr Garrad passed away earlier this year but we were delighted that his daughter, Ruth Dockerty, accepted his award.

Charity Champion Corporate Award

Bernie Jnr Fitness raised more than £4,700 for the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital by hosting a 12-hour workout.

Charity Champion Schools Award

Norwich School and Chartwells made 1,000 packed lunches for our staff working on the wards at the Norfolk and Norwich during Easter 2021 lockdown. This worked out at 100 a day, five days a week for two weeks.

To find out more about the N&N Hospitals Charity go to https://nnhospitalscharity.org.uk/

A major project to increase surgical capacity at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) has been announced with plans to create a new £11m standalone orthopaedic elective centre.

The new Norfolk and Norwich Orthopaedic Centre will see the creation of two new laminar flow theatres and a 21-bedded ward and will provide the Trust with a much-needed standalone and Covid-secure elective surgical facility.

The complex, which will result in the repurposing and relocation of activity in the Aylsham Suite, will carry out around 2,500 orthopaedic cases a year for patients who need ankle, foot, hip, knee or shoulder operations.

Subject to successful planning approval, groundworks are due to begin later this autumn with plans to start treating the first patients in the new centre in summer 2022 following a recruitment process.

Over recent years, the Trust has managed an increased demand for surgical care through the development of a new ambulatory procedures unit, new Paediatric Theatre Complex, improvements in utilisation of existing capacity and using the independent sector. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the number of patients waiting for routine and elective care.

The project is a £11.4m capital investment and the N&N Hospitals Charity is committed to fundraising £2m for equipment for the centre. This would be the largest grant ever provided by the hospital charity, which will provide benefits for the local community for many years to come.

Tim Leary, Chief of Surgery, said: “This is an extremely exciting development, which will increase our elective bed base and reduce waiting times through a dedicated and specialised orthopaedic facility. Trust pressures have resulted in the cancellation of orthopaedic procedures in the past and this new centre will mean that we can reduce cancellations and continue elective work throughout winter and pandemic pressures. We will be implementing a full elective care recruitment strategy to get the new centre operational as soon as possible.”

The Aylsham Suite site was chosen as the preferred way forward to create a standalone theatre complex that is close to the main hospital site.

Sam Higginson, NNUH Chief Executive, added: “Creating a standalone orthopaedic centre will provide a safe, effective, integrated and efficient service which will improve patient experience and provides a solution that is operationally and financially efficient to NNUH and the wider system. This is in line with best practice prescribed by the NHS and other bodies as the most effective way to tackling long waiting lists.”

To support the N&N Hospitals Charity appeal, visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/NANOC

A £2.5m project to improve diagnostics capacity and patient experience at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has been completed with the refurbishment of the Nuclear Medicine service.

Work began at the hospital in January 2020 to reconfigure the department to increase the number of SPECT-CT scanners at NNUH from one to three.

The state-of-the-art gamma cameras help provide more capacity and flexibility to ensure urgent and cancer scans are carried out in a more timely manner and the new technology allows new procedures and therapies to the carried out.

The Nuclear Medicine department has been reconfigured and refurbished including new artwork by Norfolk artist Beverley Coraldean, which has been funded by the N&N Hospitals Charity.

Nuclear Medicine is a form of functional imaging that characterises how various parts of the body are working at any given time. Small amounts of radioactive material are injected into patients which act to mimic the physiological process being studied and are detected by a gamma camera. The gamma cameras installed in the new department are called SPECT-CT machines which can produce 3D images of patients with not only function but also anatomy fused together. This fusion gives radiologists better clarity and precision when identifying patterns of disease which ultimately leads to greater confidence in reporting.

Matthew Gray, Clinical Scientist, said: “This investment makes a huge difference to our Nuclear Medicine service and for local patients to provide high quality imaging for a range of conditions. We are in the process of trying to expand our therapeutic portfolio to incorporate relatively recent ‘theranostic’ radiopharmaceuticals that can provide diagnostic imaging and therapeutic action to target neuro-endocrine and prostate cancers. The expansion of Nuclear Medicine will enable the treatment and imaging to take place in Norfolk for more cancer cases removing the need for these patients to travel long distances for their cancer treatment.

“The department has also purchased a machine that is capable of generating radioactive gas to perform lung ventilation studies with the intention of expanding the lung imaging service and improved diagnostic imaging for patients with suspected pulmonary embolism.

We are also looking to make inroads into establishing a 3D imaging head and neck melanoma service using SPECT-CT imaging.”

Julie Cooper, Head of Grants for the N&N Hospitals Charity, said: “It is lovely to see Beverley’s wonderful artwork making the unit attractive and welcoming.  The Hospitals Charity provides the ‘extras’ over and above what the Trust can do with NHS funding, and we are always keen to fund improvements to the hospital environment to enhance patients’ experience in our hospitals.”

Norfolk cancer charity Big C awarded provided a grant of £38,054 to the department so that all three camera rooms in this facility could be equipped with moving and static image LED ceiling panels and also equipped with a built in media unit to offer music and radio.
By providing this grant, the patient experience can be improved whilst they are waiting for the scan to complete giving comfort to patients and a much needed distraction. 

Dr Melanie Pascale, Director of Charitable Operations at Big C said: “It is fantastic to see the new LED ceiling panels in place and operational. Big C aims to continually improve the care for those locally who are affected by cancer and we were keen to fund this aspect of an innovative project to improve the patient experience.”

Two teams from NNUH are undertaking different challenges to raise money for the N&N Hospitals Charity.

Staff from Gateley Ward are going to be putting on their wellies and hiking boots and each walking 73km during September to raise money to purchase an additional ECG machine for their ward to benefit patients. The 73km represents 73 years of the NHS.

Natasha Adams, Deputy Ward sister, said: “We walk many steps in a shift when we are at work but we wanted to set this challenge to get outside and enjoy the Norfolk countryside and raise the money to provide this extra piece of equipment for our ward to benefit our patients.”

Two Gynaecology Oncology Specialist Nurses Paula Canwell and Nikki Hunter took part in a charity skydive on 27 August to raise money for the VOiCE campaign, part of the N&N Hospitals Charity, which supports the treatment and care of gynaecological patients in their department.

Louise Cook, NNUH Head of Fundraising, added: “After everything that my colleagues have experienced with the pandemic it is incredible to have their support in fundraising. It is so lovely to have two teams at the hospital raising money to help improve and enhance the care for their patients. Please do support the two challenges in any way you can by sending messages of support or donations.”

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gateley-nnuh

https://nnuh.enthuse.com/pf/paula-canwell

The annual N&N Hospitals Charity In Memory & Never Forgotten remembrance service was held in the NNUH Chapel in September behind closed doors due to Covid 19 restrictions still in place at the hospital.

The service was led by NNUH’s Head of Spiritual Care Adrian Woodhouse in the hospital chapel with members of the public invited to watch from home.

Chief Nurse Professor Nancy Fontaine talked about the effects of Covid on families, the community and NHS staff.

Staff members who participated in the service included Deputy Sister Lauren Jacques from the Critical Care Unit, Amrita Kulkarni from the Patient Experience Team and consultants Richard Wharton and Shoib Rehman

The service can be viewed here: