Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity is celebrating 30 years of supporting patients and families who rely on NHS care at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust. The charity is inviting the community to celebrate with them at their special afternoon tea and fashion show event, taking place on Saturday 4th July. Over the past three decades some of their milestones include:
- An outdoor playground on the Rotherham Hospital Children’s Ward, which was created back in 2023, giving poorly children and their families the opportunity to get outdoors to aid their recovery.
- A fully refurbished Neonatal Unit, which the charity raised £160,000 to facilitate in 2024. The new unit is bright and fresh, providing a welcome space for families whose babies are born too soon.
- Funding and facilitating the opening of the four Purple Butterfly end-of-life rooms across the hospital. Not all hospitals are lucky enough to offer private, en-suite rooms for families facing the unimaginable loss of a loved one. The charity first launched their Purple Butterfly In-Memory Giving Fund in 2010, which originally funded the end-of-life rooms and continues to fund their maintenance. The rooms continue to act as a lifeline for patients and their families at the end of life.
Karen Shay-Nutt, Lead Nurse for Palliative Care at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said: “The charity has been instrumental in supporting patients and those important to them receiving palliative care and end of life care. Thanks to their support, our Purple Butterfly rooms have been able to be refurbished and equipped to provide a peaceful, private, reflective calm space for our patients and those important to them during incredibly difficult times.
“The Charity have also continued to fund our Memory Boxes, which are given to families who have lost a loved one, offering comfort and a lasting way to remember. I am so grateful that we are able to work with such a supportive charity which enables us to be able to turn a negative situation into a positive experience for our patients and those important to them.”
Not only do the charity support large projects and renovations that go beyond the NHS budget, they are also here to fund equipment, services and those extra touches that enable staff at the Trust to go above and beyond. Some recent examples of charity projects include:
- A wind phone box and letter box for the hospital chapel giving grieving families the chance to send a letter or talk on the phone with a family member in heaven.
- Counselling services for families who have lost a child unexpectedly.
- Pro-bono work including donated gifts for patients at Christmas and springtime, refurbished rooms in various wards by local companies and a donated car to house the Trust’s portable X-ray machine.
To celebrate the charity’s 30 years of success, they are inviting the community to join them for a delicious afternoon tea and fashion show event at Sitwell Golf Club. The event, sponsored by Big Fish Little Fish Recruitment, includes a beautifully prepared afternoon tea with a selection of sandwiches, sweet treats and freshly brewed tea and coffee. After tea, Blue Sky Fashion Shows will be showcasing stylish collections, all of which will be available to purchase at very affordable prices.
Funds raised from the event will go towards supporting the charity’s Dementia Appeal, which aims to raise £250,000 to enhance the care and hospital experience for people living with dementia in Rotherham and beyond.
Tickets are £25.00, plus a small online admin fee, and are available at
https://rotherhamhospitalandcommunitycharity.beaconforms.com/form/9869b733.