Nurses thank Sheffield law firm for fundraising inspired by baby George

Babies who need extra special care when they are born at Rotherham Hospital are set to benefit from a £7,840 donation from Wake Smith Solicitors.
..
.

Employees at the 200-year-old Sheffield law firm were inspired to fundraise for the Special Care Baby Unit by solicitor and charitable board member Kate Lax, whose son George spent the first four weeks of his life being cared for by the ward’s specialist paediatric nurses and doctors.

Fundraisers took part in a range of activities, including dress down days, Great British Bake Off-style cake sales, lunch clubs, a Christmas raffle, staff quiz night and a Clarins beauty workshop.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

All the money raised will go to the Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity, which is run by The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, and will be spent on work to enhance the care newborns and their families receive on the Special Care Baby Unit.

Mum Kate Lax, from North Anston, said: “My son George is now one but shortly after he was born he was admitted to the Special Care Baby Unit and remained in hospital for nearly a month.

“The care and support we received, not only for George in terms of medical support, but also the emotional support provided by the nursing staff to my husband and I was truly amazing. At a very difficult time in our lives, we found we didn’t want for anything, and were given a family room so we could be at our son’s side 24/7.

“Working with my colleagues at Wake Smith has been my way of giving something back to the Special Care Baby Unit. I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone at Wake Smith for helping to raise such an incredible amount of money to help other babies like George.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The unit can care for up to 14 babies and has approximately 300 admissions every year. While the majority of babies are cared for on the unit for just a few days, some can spend several weeks or months there.

Alison Cowie, Matron for the Special Care Baby Unit, said: “We were really proud to be selected as Wake Smith’s charity of the year and are grateful for all the amazing fundraising the team has done for us. We have a great team of colleagues on the unit who work incredibly hard to provide Rotherham’s smallest and most poorly babies with the specialist care they need. Without support from businesses and organisations like Wake Smith, we wouldn’t be able to afford some of the state-of-the-art equipment or home comforts we currently have.”

For more information about the Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity and how you can offer your support please visit www.therotherhamft.nhs.uk/charity. You can also follow the charity on Twitter via @TRFT_Charity and donate money via JustGiving here - www.justgiving.com/rhcgc.