Chichester care home donates hampers to health workers
They've been saying thank you to staff at hospitals across the South, including those in Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Winchester
Last updated 19th Feb 2021
Hospital staff on the Covid frontline have received hampers and messages of support from care home residents in Chichester.
Team members from the Wellington Grange home in Broyle Road brought unopened toiletries and snacks to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth along with heart-shaped notes of kindness and encouragement.
Deliveries have also been made by Wellington Grange's operator Colten Care to other sites across Hampshire and Dorset.
The idea of making donations to intensive care staff came from Helen Smith, Home Manager, who said:
“Many intensive care staff have been experiencing added pressure, anxiety and fatigue during the pandemic.
“We have seen the extent of PPE that hospital teams have to wear at the moment and we know ourselves how difficult and uncomfortable it is to work in heavy PPE, especially on long shifts.
“We had a think about what we could do to make them feel a bit more supported. We thought some hampers and messages from our residents and team members, showing their heartfelt appreciation, was something that would go down well.”
Helen’s idea has been taken up across the entire group of 21 Colten Care homes in the south, with each one gathering items for hospitals in the communities they serve.
Two different types of hamper have been delivered with permission of each hospital.
The other is a ‘munchies’ hamper, with goodies such as unopened energy boosting snacks, granola bars and bags of nuts.
Each type of hamper includes written messages from Colten residents, dubbed ‘Hearts of Kindness’.
One is a ‘pamper’ hamper, containing unopened toiletries such as moisturisers, hand cream, body lotion, luxury soap and shower gel. This is to help intensive care staff when they are moisturising hands and faces or having a shower after a shift.
Wellington Grange resident Pen Trinnick said:
“This comes from the heart, from all of us to them. This project is a good way to show them the thanks they deserve. Their care for us is much needed and they need to take care of themselves as well.”
As well as Queen Alexandra, Colten hamper deliveries have so far been made at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital serving Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.