Nurses to take on 24-hour Wrekin challenge for Severn Hospice

Hospice at Home nurses from Severn Hospice will be walking from the bottom of the Wrekin to the top as many times as possible in 24 hours.

The nurses, who provide round-the-clock nursing care to thousands of people living with incurable illness across the county, will be joined by family and friend when the walk gets under way at 11am on April 23.

Shrewsbury-based Severn Hospice’s finances have been severely affected by the pandemic – its shops were forced to close, events were cancelled and supporters were asked to stay at home.

Now, the charity is trying to bounce back.

All of its 29 shops are open and some of its headline events such as the Dragon Boats Festival, which takes place in July, will be returning this year.

Clinical lead Debbie Morris came up with the idea with colleague Sharon Evans, Hospice at Home sister.

Sharon said: “We have been desperate to do something to help with fundraising for a while and then late last year we came up with walking up and down the Wrekin but needed to wait for things to change and the weather to improve.

“We have had a great response with many of our colleagues at the hospice wanting to join in as well as some of our friends and families.

“We want to let people know how important the hospice is. We do not just care for people on our wards – we care for the majority in their own homes, enabling them to live as well as they can with their conditions and in comfort and familiar surroundings for as long as they can.

“Four out of five people that we care for are cared for in their own homes. We provide this care 24-hours-a-day for free. But this is not without cost to us. For every £1 donated to us last year, we spent 83p on care. That is why fundraisers such as this are so important.”

Debbie explained that teams will be walking up and down the Wrekin in relays over the whole 24-hour period.

“We were amazed,” she said. “We put the call out and we’ve had volunteers to walk through the night and in the early morning. We have been able to organise everyone, and they all seem pleased with their slots.

“On a cloudless day you can see for miles from the top of the Wrekin, in fact you can almost see the whole area we cover, from Telford & Wrekin in the east across Shropshire to Mid Wales in the west. It just seemed the perfect way to raise funds to support the vital care we provide.”

Now it is just a case of training as some of the team will be walking up and down the hill multiple times.

“I am also running the London Marathon for the hospice this year, so this will be brilliant training for me,” added Sharon. “Others just want to get fit, and this has spurred them on.”

Jessica Druce, Severn Hospice fundraiser said: “This really is a great challenge that our staff and their friends and families are doing. It has really captured everyone’s imaginations and is the perfect way to illustrate how our care reaches everywhere. We are so looking forward to April, with the longer days and lighter nights and we know that our generous supporters will be right behind us.”

Last year, Severn Hospice cared for 3,000 families in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales.

Anyone who would like to support Debbie, Sharon, and the rest of the Severn Hospice team, can do so at justgiving.com/campaign/HospiceatHomechallenge24.