Coachlines - March 2022
30.03.22 Assistant Eric Wallbank
Our help for the Cavell Nurses’ Trust
As part of the extraordinary Covid emergency funding from early 2021, the Coachmakers made a donation to the Cavell Nurses Trust. The following update shows how our funds were used during the emergency to support nurses in the NHS during some of the toughest times for the profession, at the ‘sharp end’ of dealing with the pandemic.
Cavell Nurses’ Trust supports nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants in the UK, working or retired, when they are facing a personal or financial crisis. Very often members of this highly skilled and dedicated workforce find themselves in hardship through no fault of their own, for example because of illness, disability, domestic abuse and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
From simple, essential support such as money to repair a broken cooker or boiler, to vital life changing aid like helping a family flee their home due to domestic abuse, Cavell Nurses’ Trust is here to help.
The difference we make:
We proudly help nursing professionals get back on their feet in times of crisis. Every day we’re encouraged by seeing the difference this help can make.
Of the people we’ve helped since 2016:
• 93% said the support they received positively affected their physical health
• 97% said the support positively affected their mental health
• 78% said the support they received helped them get back to, or stay in, work
Getting people back on their feet increases their emotional strength and overall well-being, helping them return to or stay in the career they love. And with a shortage of nurses in the UK, this is vital. And the impact of this support goes beyond just helping each nurse, midwife and healthcare assistant who gets in touch. Family members also benefit, like the children who are so often adversely affected by stressed parents struggling to pay bills.
One of those we helped in 2021 was Kat. A cancer diagnosis at the age of 43 turned midwife Kat’s world upside down. As a single parent she had to cope financially with time off work trying to recover, whilst supporting her two children. “I cried a lot,” she recalls “It wasn’t what I had planned for my life obviously, and Covid had been exciting enough up until that point! Now I had cancer to deal with at the age of 43.” Luckily, scans showed that it was early stages and a month after her diagnosis Kat had surgery to remove a small tumour.
Due to her chemotherapy treatment weakening her immune system, Kat has been unable to return to work and struggled financially.
She turned to Cavell Nurses’ Trust and was able to access money to replace a broken washing machine, buy school uniform for her children and pay outstanding bills. “The help from Cavell took the pressure off me worrying about how to pay for things and it let me worry about my treatment and recovery” says Kat. Kat is grateful that there are colleagues and members of the public donating to and fundraising for Cavell to help people in her situation. “I think in the NHS you’re all one family. And it’s incredible to think that there are people who you don’t even know but have got your back, that’s amazing!
“If anyone is thinking of donating or fundraising to support Cavell, I would say go head, 100%!” says Kat “You never know when your life will suddenly change.”
Our heritage
Cavell Nurses’ Trust has roots going back to 1917 when a fund to care for the nation’s nurses was set up in memory of British nurse Edith Cavell. She’s celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides in World War One, regardless of nationality. Because she helped 200 Allied soldiers reach freedom from German-occupied Belgium, Edith was arrested, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death on 12 October 1915. She remains an inspiration to many and we’re proud and privileged to maintain Edith Cavell’s legacy in our work today.
Liverymen who want to find out more, or to make a personal donation, can follow this link: https://www.cavellnursestrust.org