A cheque of £57,000 has been presented to The Children’s Hospital Charity, the organisation that supports Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, by mattress and bedding company, Sleepeezee and its brand ambassador, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, to help funding towards a new helipad for the trust.
Sheffield Children’s Hospital is a dedicated Major Trauma Centre (MTC) and is one of only five dedicated paediatric MTCs in England. It is the only MTC in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire that receives children under 16 years of age and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. The new helipad means the hospital can get critically ill or injured patients to the right place, with the right team and provide vital early care and management.
Young patients at the hospital enjoyed a visit from Sleepeezee ambassador Dame Jessica, who spent some time sharing her story with children on the wards and showcasing her Olympic medal, while Sleepeezee’s MD Steve Warren received an insight into the working of the hospital, including the wards and specialist services.
Athlete and London 2012 Olympic champion, Dame Jessica, comments: "As a proud patron of The Children’s Hospital Charity and a Sleepeezee ambassador, it was a joy to visit the wards and present the impressive donation. Being able to contribute to a hospital that provides such an excellent level of care to both children and their families is an absolute pleasure and I am delighted the money is going towards the appeal to fund a much-needed helipad on the hospital roof."
The £57,000 donation was amassed via sales of Sleepeezee’s Jessica mattress range, for which £20 of each sale throughout the year is donated to The Children’s Hospital Charity. Now in its third year of fundraising, Sleepeezee has raised a total of £132,000 for the charity so far, and plans to continue the initiative in 2023.
Steve Warren adds: "Our partnership with Jessica and The Children’s Hospital Charity, which we know is incredibly close to her heart, continues to go from strength to strength, and we’re thrilled to be back for another year. Seeing for ourselves the invaluable work that Sheffield Children’s carries out is an honour and we hope our donation from the Jessica Collection helps the hospital achieve its ambitions for the new helipad."
Tchad Western, business development manager and chief fun officer at The Children’s Hospital Charity, says: "This incredible donation from Sleepeezee will help with our current appeal to build a helipad on the roof of the hospital. We need to raise £6m in total and we’re currently over two-thirds of the way towards our target.
"At the moment, air ambulances land in a park across the road from the hospital, and patients have to be transported across the busy A57. This can attract a lot of attention, so a helipad will not only save vital minutes when every second counts, it will also provide families with privacy and dignity during a difficult time.
"This donation will make a huge difference in helping us to achieve our dream. On behalf of everyone at Sheffield Children’s and Charity, a big thank you to Sleepeezee and our patron Dame Jessica."
Pictured: Chris Hayden, deputy COO at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust; Steve Warren; Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill; and Tchad Western
