The Serenity Appeal will ensure the improvement of the maternity bereavement services at the Trust, and make sure that those who require its services receive a gold standard of care. The funding raised through events, such as that done by Brendan and his family, will go towards purchasing a new scanning machine for Bassetlaw Hospital’s Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit (EPAU), renovating the counselling rooms at Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI) and Bassetlaw, and also be used to create a bereavement room on the Children’s Ward at DRI, entitled ‘The Serenity Suite’.
They will be commencing with the challenge in the week beginning 25 April and are hoping to conquer the three Yorkshire peaks, Pen-y-ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough, in around 12 to 14 hours.
Caren Hudson, the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit Manager at DBTH, is the partner of Brendan, mother to Conor, and mother-in-law to both Emma and Dan. Caren, alongside her daughter and other family members, will be setting up a basecamp in Austwick to provide refreshments and celebratory drinks to the team taking on the challenge, as well as tending to a potential blister or two.
Caren said: “The team are more than happy to support the Serenity Appeal; the heartache of baby loss is never far away, and we all know someone in our lives that experienced this unbearable grief.
“This is close to my own heart, as manager of the EPAU unit we care for women, couples and their families at this sad time. The money raised for the Serenity Appeal will enable us to provide in-house scanning and refurbish the counselling rooms at Doncaster and Bassetlaw; this will have a very positive impact on the quality of the service we provide and create a private, quiet and comfortable room for families to grieve within the hospital.”
Brendan commented on how he, and the team, are feeling about the challenge and why they are taking it on. He said: “We are really excited about doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. The route is 24 miles and has 5200 feet of ascent which will most definitely push us to our limits, but it will all be worth it in the end.
“The members of our team have thankfully never experienced pregnancy loss directly, but know people who have, and Caren’s work has made us all very much aware of how devastating it is for families to experience. We are delighted to be able to support the appeal and do what we can to help in the improvement of the maternity bereavement services across the Trust”.
The Serenity Appeal itself was launched at the start of February, and has so far raised over £25,000. There are a number of ways that you can donate to the appeal, whether you want to make a one-off donation, take part in a sponsored event or create your own fundraising project – please head to https://dbthcharity.co.uk/serenity-appeal/ for more details.
If you have questions or would like to request more information in regards to this appeal, or for any other charitable project at the Trust, please contact the Charity Team on Tel: 01302 644244, email: DBTH.Charity@nhs.net or head to http://www.dbth.nhs.uk/charity
