The packs contained toiletries, socks donated by Burnley’s online fashion store Boohoo.com and snacks gifted by Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s coffee shop and the Baby Beat shop.
There were also cupcakes donated by North Wales based cupcake company The Cake Crew. Their collection and transportation from the company’s Bala bakery was made for free by R&B Logistics, of Stockport.
In addition the packs contained a water bottle sponsored by Preston company Gafoor Ltd, which also donated 1,500 drawstring bags, hand sanitiser gifted by Preston pharmacy chain Pharmalogic and an NHS heroes letter of thanks, printed for free by Huddersfield company Media 21a.
The goods were stored and packed at storage solutions company Brysdales, which donated free space at its Britannia Buildings complex in Drumhead Road, Chorley. It also gifted 2,500 plastic tote bags and enabled staff to help with the pack and delivery to the hospital sites.
Some of the toiletries – hand creams and moisturisers – were bought by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity with a £20,000 donation from the Bhailok family, of Preston. They were items requested by staff to help them treat pressure sores and chapped skin behind their ears from wearing protective face and eye masks and soothe sore hands from constantly using sanitiser. A donation of £5,000 from BAE Systems was also spent on other practical items.
Paula Wilson, Head of Charities and Fundraising for LTHTR, said: “We wanted to show our thanks and appreciation to all the frontline staff working in our two hospitals.
“Our focus is usually on fundraising to benefit patients. Our charity family works to fund equipment for our hospitals that the NHS cannot afford to buy. We also fund other services and research plus work to improve our treatment environments to make life better for patients, but I am delighted that we are able to offer support to our frontline colleagues. They are working so hard and putting others first during this unprecedented health crisis, we felt we needed to give them some of our help and attention.”
Paula added: “From the overwhelmingly supportive response we have received from local individuals and businesses, we know that this is something the public very much agrees with us on.”
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides district general hospital services to a local community of 390,000 and specialist services to 1.5m across Lancashire and South Cumbria. For enquiries about its charity, contact paula.wilson@lthtr.nhs.uk or call 01772 528500.
