Bassetlaw District Councillors support hospitals Rainbow Garden appeal

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teachings Hospitals (DBTH) have received a very generous donation of £2000 in support of their Rainbow Gardens appeal from Councillors at Bassetlaw District Council.

The gardens, to be created at Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Bassetlaw Hospital, are to remember those in our local communities we have lost to Covid-19, including two much loved colleagues Kevin Smith and Dr Medhat Atalla.

Bassetlaw District Councillors have supported the appeal by donating a portion of their community grant funding.  Deborah Merryweather, Chairman of the Council and a member of Team DBTH, said: “We are delighted to support this worthwhile appeal which is very close to my heart.  I feel passionate that colleagues and the local community affected by Covid-19 have a place to go to find some solitude and take time to reflect and recharge.  Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Bassetlaw Hospital presently do not have any gardens on site and my local councillor colleagues and myself feel this is a much needed resource, especially in these uncertain times.”

The trust launched the appeal in June, setting a target of £35,000, and since the launch have been inundated with offers of donations which include the services of two landscape gardeners, fencing for both gardens, and offers of garden furniture.  Two large cash donations totalling £15,000 have also been received from Anpario PLC based in Worksop and Polypipe Building Products based in Doncaster, and the Just Giving page currently stands at just under £10,000.

Suzy Brain England OBE, Chair of the Board at the Trust, said: “Thank you so much to Bassetlaw District Councillors for their support, bringing us another step closer to our overall target of £35,000.  We have been overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness from our local communities and the support we have received has meant so much to our teams and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you.”

DBTH colleagues have worked tirelessly over the last few months, caring for 723 patients with Covid-19 and at the time of writing are caring for ? patients, the lowest number since the beginning of March.

To find out how you can support the Rainbow Gardens appeal, go to: https://www.dbth.nhs.uk/charity/rainbow-gardens/