Outgoing Mayor of Bishop Auckland, Cllr Katie Eliot has used her time as Mayor to raise £3,000.63 for Ward 7 at Bishop Auckland Hospital via the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Charity. Cllr Eliot has hosted a number of events and activities, including a Mayoral Dinner at Bishop Auckland College, a Meet the Mayor Afternoon Tea at Fifteas Tea Room, as well as fundraising stalls at both the 2021 and 2022 Food Festivals.
All events were supported by great raffle prizes and donations from local people and businesses. Cllr Eliot said: “Representing this community as Mayor has been a privilege. I have enjoyed every moment and opportunity that the role has given me. It has been fantastic to meet so many people from across the town, region and even internationally. The last couple of years have really made us all realise how lucky we are to have such a wonderful NHS. I was taken aback when I realised that even the chair next to the hospital bed was provided by the charity, as only basic care needs are met by core funding. I chose to raise funds for Ward 7, the Frailty ward here at our local hospital.
“They provide care for some of our most vulnerable people, including those with dementia. The charity let me know that they aspired to have new murals painted to help enhance the stay for patients, so I set my sights on raising enough to cover the cost, which I am thrilled to have achieved with a little more left to help fund other items.
“It was wonderful to see the murals go up this week. They are beautiful and make the ward a much more inviting place. A special thank you goes to all those who supported my fundraising efforts by attending events and donating prizes, including some wonderful businesses in Bishop Auckland.”
Alison Bottoms, Ward Sister at Ward 7 said: “We are hugely grateful to the mayor for all her hard work over the year in raising this fantastic amount of money to support our patients. The murals will make such a difference for improving patient experience, especially for those patients who have dementia, to make it a more welcoming environment with the addition of some tables and chairs outside the ‘café’. The murals include Durham Cathedral which is a wonderful landmark, a café, bus stop and post office which we hope will bring some happy memories for our patients and something else to focus on and talk about during their stay on the ward. The cherry blossom tree mural has been placed over a mirrored surface which will be much more calming and less confusing for patients.
“Myself and other members of the ward team attended the mayor’s gala dinner which was a wonderful treat and the event raised quite a lot of money.”
Pat Chambers, the Trust’s Charity Manager, said: “Our charitable funds are used to enhance patient care and wellbeing in all sorts of ways. We would like to offer a huge thank you to the Mayor for choosing us as her charity and to everyone who contributed to this fantastic sum of money raised. We are hugely grateful for the support. Anyone can help support Your NHS Charity with a text donation by simply texting YOURNHS to 70480 to donate £5. Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message.
“You can also organise a fundraiser. Contact the team on 01325 743781 or email cddft.charity@nhs.net”.
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
