Hinchingbrooke Hospital collects to help food bank

The idea was the brainchild of Hinchingbrooke Hospital Anaesthetic Practitioner, Mark Pilkington and his colleagues in the Theatres department who wanted to do more to help the community.

He said: “Not everyone is in a position where they can continue to work and have either found themselves furloughed or out of work altogether. As a result, a lot of families and individuals may find themselves struggling financially and using the local food bank. Everyone has been so generous with their donations to NHS staff, we wanted to give something back and this way we can ensure that the food bank is stocked for those that need to use it.”

After speaking to other colleagues, Mark found that many of them felt the same. “Staff from the Garden Restaurant, Pharmacy and the Special Care Baby Unit have joined our initiative and we sent two lots so far,” he said. “Thanks to everyone’s generosity we have filled ten boxes and two carrier bags of food items and basic necessities, which was dropped off to the food bank with the help of colleagues Heather Morris, Rosario di Rita, Charlotte Meads and Adam Bright, Station Manager for East of England Ambulance Trust

“We don’t know when life will return to some kind of normality, so this will be an ongoing collection.”