Thankful Friday

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We are on week three of lock down and have experienced an overwhelming amount of support from our local community. This week especially we have been inundated with gifts and we couldn’t be more thankful.

We’d like to shine a spotlight on those who have been hugely generous this week, to show our appreciation:

  • Diane Olalla, for donating handmade uniform bags and fiddle blankets for patients.
  • Trophystore.co.uk for donating hundreds of Haribo Starmix
  • Iceland Acocks Green for donating sweet treats
  • Staff member Trudy, for rallying support within her community in order to supply treats and extra washing supplies to staff at ROH.
  • BidFood for donating 1000 Easter eggs
  • The Wax Company, for donating hand and body wash as well as hand lotion for all our staff to enjoy.
  • Emma Frost at the Body Shop, for donating over 30 tubes of hand cream.
  • Biscuits and chocolates donated by Tracey Stanford
  • Fundraiser Beth Robin who donated cotton uniform bags
  • Gems At Work, for donating 400 Easter eggs and 600 Kind Snack bars.
  • Krispy Kreme for donating masses of doughnuts
  • Summer House Bar & Grill for donating 1000 Easter eggs
  • PerksatWork for donating over 800 protein shakes

All these amazing gifts have been distributed to patients and staff across the hospital, and we have many more to come next week.

Distributing these gifts has given the whole hospital a sense of community, morale is boosted and smiles have been spread, all because of the support you have given us. After a long stressful shift or a lonely day without visitors, these gifts mean so much.

In order to ensure all this are utilised appropriately, we decided to gifts some of the above to fellow emergency workers at Bournvile Police Station and Northfield Fire Station. West Midlands police will be distributing these to children in the community throughout the next week.

Fundraisers Olivia & Natalie have continued to wow us by publicising their appeals in the wider community. Both have been able to engage the local press on their fundraising venture’s and has had an amazing response. Check out their pages by visiting our COVID-19 support page.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed, donated and fundraised for us during this team. We are so grateful.

Staff members step up

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Staff members Natalie and Olivia have taken the world by storm with their fundraising in the last month, between them raising nearly £2000 to support staff and patients at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.

Both are clinical members of staff directly working with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases, yet have found the time to support us outside of work, a very commendable thing to do.

Sister Natalie’s passion for fundraising ignited after the new infection control regulations came into place whereby staff members were told to shower after caring for any confirmed or suspected case. She realised that for a lot of people this could be financially straining; using up their toiletries on a daily or weekly basis. Of course, the trust provided showering essentials, however many staff members preferred not to use these and put the trust under further financial restraint. This drove her to build a GoFundMe page and proceeded to make staff essential baskets filled with showering essentials as well as a few treats for each clinical area.

“Trust me when I say we are just as scared as the general population, especially bringing it home to our loved ones but we are needed. So we continue to do what we do best – go to work and smile. We care for your loved ones as if they were our own”

Sister Natalie Jackson

Olivia opened her GoFundMe page after having a conversation with a patient in isolation who was upset that they couldn’t get their daily essentials from their family. New toiletries and their daily newspaper, all because they were no longer able to receive visitors. Olivia proceeded to appeal to her local community and received an overwhelming response.

“Sometimes all it takes is something small to make their day a bit brighter and a little less scary – they don’t even get to see another smile with all the protective gear!”

Staff Nurse Olivia O’Connell

We have been overwhelmed with their commitment to support their fellow staff members and the patients they see every day, through what is a really difficult time for a lot of people.

We would like to say a huge thank you both these amazing fundraisers, and to anyone who contributed to either appeals, your support really does mean so much!

To contribute to either page, please visit our COVID-19 support page.

Supporting patients with a dementia friendly environment

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The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital recently took the decision to help refurbish patient bathrooms bearing in mind the increase in both diagnosed and undiagnosed dementia across the region. The Throne Project launched in 2018, and raised a huge £11,000 to support the redesign of patient bathrooms across the hospital.

The idea stemmed from ROH Senior Occupational Therapist Tracey Gilbert, who saw a need within the hospital to make subtle changes to bathrooms to make patients feel more comfortable. The ROH Charitable Fund became involved as the changes needed were non-compulsory but something patients would benefit from.

The changes included altering colours to ensure contrast within the rooms which would help the visually impaired, those with anxiety and patients living with dementia. 

Alzheimers UK said: “Using bright and contrasting colours for furniture and furnishings helps patients with dementia see things more easily. Avoid blue and green on flooring as this can be mistaken for water or grass.”

Floor colours were changed from the original blue in order to alleviate anxiety. Hand rails and bathroom aids were changed to be brighter and bolder, which were a great contrast to the pastel light blue walls, white tiles and grey floor. New bathroom signage was put up showing patients in both picture and text form whether the bathroom had a shower and toilet or just one of the two.

Whilst completing the project, the Trust decided to add on additional equipment to help patients with dementia feel supported throughout their hospital journey, not just in the bathrooms. Dementia-friendly clocks were purchased and put in every bay and side room in the hospital, and hospital signage was reviewed to keep consistency. Additionally, wartime scrapbooks and chatterbox cards from the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s were purchased to help provide mental stimulation and encourage conversation for both the elderly, those suffering memory loss and patients with dementia.

As a small hospital, The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital doesn’t see a large percentage of dementia patients compared to the other trusts in the area. However, they are committed to the constant need to adapt and change to support and enhance hospital experiences for everyone where possible.

Tracey Gilbert said: “This is a great example of improving patient experience. It may not be in-your-face or have the wow factor but it really does help our patients feel supported.”

David Gourevitch, Chair of the ROH Charitable Funds said: “We were very grateful to have been involved in funding the project and look forward to hearing the positive feedback from the changes made.”

2020 Leading Lights Annual Staff Awards | Winners Announced

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On Friday 7 February 2020, nearly 300 members of staff came together for a night of festivity at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens to celebrate the incredible staff at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital at our annual Leading Lights Awards! Our values drive everything we do here at the Trust, we take pride in delivering exceptional patient care and our values are the foundation of that care.

It is remarkable to know that our staff are being recognised for the outstanding work they do. It is safe to say that the shortlisting panel had a difficult job choosing their winners!

The night went down a storm with patients, staff and visitors in attendance. The amount of support and admiration in the room was visible for the entirety of the evening. Seeing a handful of those who make such a huge impact on the Trust, in one room celebrating one another, really made for a special evening.

Did you know the charity funds the staff awards each year?

Every year the annual staff awards is funded by the Invest In Our Best appeal. Supporting the awards every year is an opportunity for the charitable fund to give something back to the employees and volunteers who enable us to continue to be the first choice for orthopaedic care. Whether that is going the extra mile to take care of a family, or researching and developing ways in which we can help the Trust to grow and innovate.

Thank you to our sponsors

We would like to say a special thank you to those who sponsored our awards:

  • Yvonne Scott, sponsoring the Support Worker of the Year
  • Kirk Bent, sponsoring the Outstanding Contribution to Patient Experience
  • Stella Noon, sponsoring Nurse of the Year
  • Module Co Healthcare Ltd, sponsoring Clinical Achievement
  • DrDoctor, sponsoring the Innovation Award

If you would like to help support next year’s awards, contact the fundraising team on 0121 685 4379 or email roh.charitablefunds@nhs.net


Lynda’s story

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Lynda Langan was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer after a fall. She decided to donate to The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Charitable Fund after “a wonderful experience of care.” Here is her story.

“My journey started two years ago. It all started when I was riding one day and I fell and landed on my coccyx. It was of course extremely painful and I was told it would take some time to heal. After some time with persistent pain I was referred for an X-ray at Fleetwood Hospital. Something odd showed up, which is when I was referred for an MRI at Preston Hospital where I was diagnosed with a tumour called chordoma. Chordoma is a very rare type of bone cancer, making up only 6% of all bone sarcoma diagnosis.

“This was when I was referred to The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, a specialist bone cancer centre in Birmingham. I met with Mr Parry, an oncology consultant who had the most wonderful way of putting me at ease. He explained everything in a down to earth manor, which made me feel safe and ready to put my faith in him.

“Not long after my initial consultant, I had a procedure to have the tumour and my coccyx removed. I was in hospital for three weeks, and was cared for exceptionally by everyone – nothing was too much trouble. It was then I was told I could have proton beam treatment at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust (in Manchester) if I would like. We applied and my case was accepted, ready for the centre to open in January. Before this I would have had to travel to Florida to receive the treatment, so I was really lucky.

“I had eight-and-a-half weeks of proton treatment and it was an amazing experience. The technology and engineering were unbelievable, it was like a space station. All of the staff became friends and were so kind and made you very comfortable. We stayed in Manchester at Staycity Aparthotel; it was like a home from home. We had everything we needed whilst we were there. A mini bus picked us up each day to take us to the centre.

“Mr Parry had told me because I was very fit and healthy for my age, he was confident that I would come out well from my experience, which I feel I have done. I was an athlete at school and was in county teams for athletics and netball. Until I had my accident, I was still very sporty, playing golf, hiking, swimming daily, cycling, bowling and Nordic walking.

“It has been a long and difficult journey but I have got through it with the help of all of my family and friends. My husband has been my rock and supported me through it all. We have been very happily married for 51 years and are looking forward to many more years ahead. My son came the other day and said “you’re looking really well, mum.” That made me smile. I thought about it for a few minutes and said to myself “you’re right. I’m getting my mojo back, I’m feeling more like my old self more each day.”

“I have always kept a very positive attitude and been able to accept what has happened to me and get on with it, knowing that I was in the best possible hands.

“I will always be eternally grateful to those involved in my journey and those who helped save my life. Now I’m carrying on, living my life in the fast lane.

“Recently I have recently been involved in a research study for chordoma, supported by nurses at the ROH. It came as a surprise, but I felt very privileged to have been given the opportunity to help those who are diagnosed in the future.

“As I had such a wonderful experience of care at ROH, my husband and I decided to make a donation to further support this research programme, and those diagnosed with chordoma in the future.”

London school donates £10,000

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A school in London has raised a staggering £10,000 for the ROH Charitable Fund, to say thank you for the care the hospital provided for a teacher’s relative.

Alleyn’s School, in Dulwich, South London, is a co-educational school for pupils aged four to 18. The school has eight houses, each made up of around 200 students. Every year, the houses vote for a charity to support. Last year, one of the houses, Tulley’s, chose to support the Trust’s charity after hearing about the experience their own housemaster, Jude Fitzgerald, had with the hospital.

Jude’s mother was a long-term patient at the hospital when she was treated for sarcoma. She was brought to the ROH from Lancashire, and spent several months there. Jude credits Professor Abudu, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the ROH, with saving her mother’s life.

The pupils decided to choose the charity as a chance to say thank you for the care the ROH provided, and make a difference to the hospitals future. Jude said: “I entered the charity into the mix on a whim. We don’t influence the children in anyway and we let them choose what they are most supportive of. In this case it was The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, which was really lovely for me, as I have such a personal connection with the hospital.”

Lots of fundraising events were held to keep the number of donations growing. The school held everything from dinner parties and talent shows to lip sync battles and a Mario Kart tournament, played out on a giant screen. The majority of the money came from a charity ball featuring a live auction with gifts donated by the pupils’ parents, performances from the students themselves and food and drink sales.

Jo Williams, Chief Executive at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, said: “To all the fabulous students and staff at Alleyn’s School, we are so grateful for your hard work. It is an amazing amount of money to raise and on behalf of the team at the ROH, thank you – we are truly overwhelmed.”

The money was collected by ROH Associate Medical Director Mr John Va Faye, and representatives from the ROH Charitable Fund and communications team. They had the opportunity to enjoy a special lunch with staff and a group of students, some of whom were involved with the fundraising from beginning to end. The group discussed future opportunities the Trust could work with Alleyn’s and will ensure the funds go towards something the children are passionate about.

We cant thank the staff members and pupils enough for their passion to support us. We will be engaging them in the near future of how their funds will impact patients at ROH.

Para-swimmer Tully Kierney visits ROH Fundraiser

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This December Para-swimmer, Tully Kierney drove all the way from  Manchester to surprise one of our renowned fundraisers, Autumn.

Autumn, who is a scoliosis patient at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, raised over £700 earlier this year by forfeiting her birthday presents for donations to the hospital. We used the funds she raised to renovate one of our young adult rooms on our spinal ward.

We wanted to do something special to thank her for her support. When we asked Tully if she would be interested in surprising Autumn when she visited the room, she instantly said ‘yes’ and couldn’t wait to meet her.

Tully has been a patient at the ROH since 2010 and has recently been diagnosed with scoliosis. Despite having cerebal palsy, dystonia and now scoliosis, she has become a world champion para-swimmer. Tully is an advocate for ROH and an avid follower of the Trust on Twitter, so knew all about Autumn and her fantastic her fundraising story.

Autumn, her mum Anna and younger sister Violet, visited the hospital and were shown photos of the room autumn funded and got to hear some of the amazing feedback families had given in regards to the renovations.

Tully brought along her medals for us all to look at, and Autumn was  mesmerised by the weight of them. There was a lot of inspiration in the room. You could see that Autumn and her family were all in awe of Tully and all that she has achieved, but also Tully was undoubtingly inspired by Autumn and her generous nature at such a young age.

Tully and Autumn had a lot in common, and talked about some of the lovely staff in the orthotics department who have helped them over the years. They joked about the patterns available for braces, and that they would change every time they would visit, which made it even harder to choose.

You’ll probably notice Autumn is holding a Giraffe in her photos. This was a gift given by the executive directors at the ROH for her fundraising efforts. The giraffe has a body brace, just like the one that Autumn used to wear, and also the same pattern that Tully uses on her foot braces.

Tully wanted to do something to show Autumn how much she cared. She made Autumn her very own Christmas decoration to take home, which was a really lovely gesture. They all had a fantastic time, and everyone left feeling in high spirits and motivated to do more.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Tully for taking the time to visit us and Autumn. It was a lovely surprise and one that we’re sure they will remember for years to come. 

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Patient’s generous legacy gift funds state-of-the-art regenerative medicine laboratory at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital

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In 2014, former Royal Orthoapedic Hospital (ROH) patient, Mr Michael Dubrowsky passed away and left a significant legacy gift to the ROH Charitable Fund following treatment he received at the Trust for chondrosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. This generous gift has enabled ROH to invest in a new state of the art regenerative medicine laboratory – The Dubrowsky Regenerative Medicine Laboratory. 

The laboratory was officially opened on Tuesday 17 December 2019 by Dame Yve Buckland, Chair of the ROH, in a ceremony which had representation from ROH colleagues, research partners, patients and well-wishers. Speakers included Professor Philip Begg, ROH Director of Strategy and Delivery; Mr Adrian Gardener, ROH Director of Research and Development & Consultant Surgeon; Dame Yve Buckland and Mr. Dubrowsky’s close friend, Anne Brookes.

Located close to theatres on the main ROH estate, the lab will have a focus on chondrosarcoma and cartilage research, and will enable ROH to continue to lead the scientific community in the development of understanding and treatments for this rare disease.

What does the launch of the Dubrowsky Regenerative Medicine Laboratory mean for ROH?

  • Having its own fully equipped laboratory will give ROH a degree of impact within the Birmingham medical science community beyond anything it has had before.
  • ROH clinical researchers and support staff will have brand new facilities that showcase the hospital as a serious research partner, increasing opportunities for researchers to engage with each other and to encourage new partnerships.
  • The lab will give ROH an opportunity to foster international collaboration in the field of chondrosarcoma.

Professor Phil Begg, Executive Director of Strategy at ROH said: “This new laboratory will enable our Trust to conduct even more ground-breaking research into rare cancers and orthopaedic treatments. The legacy of Michael Dubrowsky is monumental and will have an impact for many years to come.”

Leaving the Charitable Fund a gift in your will is one of the most valuable and lasting ways you can support us. It costs nothing during your lifetime but will have a powerful impact for years to come. To find out more click here.

Watch the BBC Midlands Today piece about the launch of the laboratory here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/midlands-today17122019

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Charity Christmas Ball 2019

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On Friday staff from the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital let their hair down at our annual Charity Christmas ball, with all proceeds going towards our all-important Christmas Appeal. We’re pleased to announce £2,350.35 was raised through ticket sales, raffle tickets & fundraisers leading up to the event. 

The generosity we received this year was incredible. We are so grateful to Sally’s Events who helped to make the room look incredible, as well as Tilly’s Treats Balloons. DJ Lee Entertainment got us all dancing & Suave Snaps also did a great job photographing how much fun we all had.

The raffle went down a storm. We were very lucky to have many raffle prizes donated towards the event, we’d like to say a huge thank you to every single one. We couldn’t have done it without them!

Thank you to:

  • Symphony Hall Birmingham
  • Venture Studios photography
  • Coombe Abbey
  • West Bromwich Albion
  • Roman Baths, Fashion Museum and Victoria Art Gallery
  • Worcestershire Racecourse
  • Sadler’s Brewey
  • Birmingham Rep
  • Geraghty’s Butchers
  • Escape room Birmingham
  • Stratford upon Avon butterfly farm
  • Dudley Zoological Gardens
  • Becketts Farm
  • Teamworks Karting Ltd
  • Barefoot Yoga
  • Oak Tree Generous George
  • Monkey Forest Trentham
  • Webbs Garden Centre
  • The Warwickshire Golf & Country Club

A huge thank you goes out to everyone who attended & joined in the fun.

You are all amazing.

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Giving Tuesday 2019

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Our Giving Tuesday Fundraiser went down a storm today, we were visited from patients, the public and staff across the hospital. We had so much fun, photos were taken, cake was eaten, and funds were raised for our all-important Christmas appeal.

We had a range of activities organised by staff members Victoria, Jenny & Tracey all acclaimed fundraisers within the hospital & their own teams.

You name it, we had it…. a bake sale, how many sweets in the jar, guess the missing ingredient, a raffle and last but certainly not least a ‘win every time’ lucky dip!

We were very lucky and had some fabulous prizes courtesy of our local community. A big thanks to staff at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Sainsburys Selly Oak, Cake Mole – Rachel & Morrisons Bromsgrove for their support. They donated over £100 worth of goodies towards our fundraiser, and we genuinely couldn’t have run the event without their support.

A very passionate oncology patient in the hospital also gifted £50 towards our activities on the day, which was an incredibly lovely gesture. He himself had lots of fundraising experience so we used one of their ideas to raise even more money for the charity.

Throughout the event we were promoting the wonderful work of the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, and sharing stories of how your donations help. Donations support patients & families who need it. Our Christmas appeal, is just one of the many funding streams supporting those individuals.

We raised an incredible £280.85, a huge victory!

Don’t forget to get involved in our latest competition and be in for the chance of winning a £30 Love2Shop Voucher. 

ROC | Royal Orthopaedic Charity

Bristol Road South
Northfield
Birmingham
B31 2AP

Registered Charity Number: 1078046

Call: 0121 6854379
Email: roc@nhs.net 

Fundraising Resources

Charity Event Poster
Fundraising Leaflet
Gift Aid Declaration Form
Page Donation Form
Sponsorship Form
Legacy Leaflet
Corporate Leaflet

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