NHS Heroes Step Out for Crosshouse Children's Fund

A team of NHS Ayrshire & Arran colleagues are gearing up for this year’s Kiltwalk to give back to Crosshouse Children's Fund, which supported their teams through the pandemic.

Alexa Foster, Attica Wheeler, Carol Whyte and Sam Fredriksen-Freer who work at the Ayrshire Maternity Unit at University Hospital Crosshouse, will be swapping their scrubs for kilts for the comeback of one of the country’s biggest fundraising events.

Walking in aid of Crosshouse Children’s Fund – the charitable fund which supports Ayrshire and Arran’s children and their families in hospital – the team of NHS heroes are determined to raise as much as possible through the event which takes place on Sunday 26 September.

Attica Wheeler, Associate Nurse Director, NHS Ayrshire & Arran said: “Crosshouse Children’s Fund has had a positive impact on both our service users and teams across Ayrshire and Arran. The charity has given us the opportunity to enhance people’s lives with access to additional resources that we would not have had available to us previously.”

The pandemic has put significant pressure on the teams at Ayrshire Maternity Unit, who have been working tirelessly to ensure that services continue to run smoothly. Attica added: “Our resilient teams have rallied round to ensure that our good work continues despite the uncertainty that COVID-19 presents. The biggest challenge has been trying to maintain normality in a far from normal world and providing reassurance to families when their loved ones can’t be by their sides. The teams have been incredible not only in their resilience but also in their ability to ensure women and children’s services continue to run smoothly in an ever-changing world.”

Alexa Foster, Clinical Midwifery Manager, NHS Ayrshire & Arran said: “Going through the maternity unit is a major life event, so it should be as special for families as it would’ve been before the pandemic. We’ve been determined to continue that sense of normality on the unit, and within paediatrics as well. Crosshouse Children’s Fund has supported us throughout the pandemic with staff wellbeing projects, and we’re continuing to see a lot of value from the enhancements and resources they have been able to fund. Now it’s our turn to give back, and we’re looking forward to doing this with our first ever Kiltwalk.”

William McGowan, Head of Partnerships & Events, Crosshouse Children’s Fund said: “It is a real privilege to have our NHS heroes taking on this challenge with us, when they already work tirelessly around the clock caring for Ayrshire and Arran’s children and families in hospital. Our charity-funded projects through the pandemic have only been made possible thanks to kind donations and fundraising from the generous public. There’s still time to register for the Kiltwalk, and when you take part, your fundraising total will be topped up by 50%, making your efforts go even further to make a difference.”