To kick off celebrations, representatives from King's College Hospital Charity joined members of the Foundation Trust’s executive team at Orpington Hospital, the Princess Royal University Hospital, and King’s College Hospital to personally thank staff for their ongoing efforts.
Charity Chief Executive, Gail Scott-Spicer visited King's College Hospital and said, "As ever, it’s been a great honour for King’s College Hospital Charity to support Team King’s through the exceptional challenges of the past year.
King’s Chief Executive Clive Kay acknowledged the ongoing efforts of King's staff and volunteers, and praised their dedication towards patients and patients' families.
"We stand in awe and grateful appreciation of the way each and every one of you – our 16,000 staff and volunteers – care for our community, and care for one another," says Clive.
"Amid these challenging times in our lives, it’s never been more important for us to value the contributions of one another, and pass on our thanks to each other.
Admiration for Team King's extends deep into our local communities, and it's been an incredible privilege to harness that support through our COVID appeals. Since launching our Hospital Heroes Appeal last year, we have received over 7,000 individual donations and hundreds of messages of support from members of the community all voicing their heartfelt gratitude.
Some of these messages have been transformed into giant poster installations across the hospitals for staff to enjoy.
A team of supporters went the extra mile and created a special video rendition of Michael Rosen's iconic poem, ‘These are the Hands’, dedicated to Team King's.
The Hurt family recently fundraised for King's after 12-year-old Harry received treatment for his liver condition on the Rays of Sunshine ward. For their video, the Hurts included their pups Peewee and Max, and dressed them in King's College Hospital Charity t-shirts.
"We will always support King's where we can," says Harry's mum, Emma.
Charity Director of Fundraising and Communications, Claire Wood Hill, visited the Princess Royal University Hospital and felt humbled by the staff's response to the festivities, and their overwhelming gratitude for the support of the community.
"It was a real privilege to be able to say a huge 'thank you' to the staff at the Princess Royal University Hospital for all their incredibly hard work and commitment over the past year," says Claire.
