The charity is urging local communities to get behind its Support Our Staff appeal to keep hospital staff going through the latest surge of COVID-19, and able to provide the best possible care to patients.
The hospitals that make up the King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, including King’s College Hospital in Camberwell and the Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley, are now at a critical point with combatting the virus. Over the festive period, coronavirus admissions increased by over 600% in just three weeks, and staff are currently treating over 750 in-patients who have tested positive for the virus.
Spiralling infection rates have led to many more patients becoming extremely unwell. And staff are working incredibly long hours in pressurised circumstances, as they continue to go above and beyond to care for their patients.
“We have more patients now that we did at the peak of the pandemic last year,” says Dr Tom Best MBE, Clinical Director of Critical Care at King’s.
“This is truly unprecedented. Now, as we stand on the frontline of the second surge, still exhausted from the first, we need your support more than ever.”
Charity chief executive, Gail Scott-Spicer says “The care provided by staff throughout the hospitals is extraordinary and it is a privilege to be able to help them and to act as a means for our local communities to be able to express their support through their donations.
“We are able to translate this generosity into practical help whether that be through snacks, refreshments and toiletries to keep staff going through long, tough shifts or through funding bereavement counselling for both patients and staff who have lost loved ones during these difficult times.”
Funds raised through the S.O.S. Appeal will enable King's College Hospital Charity to offer immediate practical help to frontline staff, like distributing food, toiletries, fresh changes of clothes, and creating a safety net of essential support and wellbeing services.
- To support the S.O.S. Appeal visit https://supportkings.org.uk/SOS
- See coverage in the Daily Express