A medical secretary who completed the Great North Run has raised just over £400 for NHS Charities Together, which supports patients and staff across the country.
Sarah Parker, who has worked for the NHS for 21 years, works at the Poplar child and adolescent mental health services ward at Rochford Hospital. The ward is run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT).
Sarah ran the largest half marathon in the world on Sunday 13 September with her stepdaughter Lily.
She has raised £405 for NHS Charities Together. The organisation works with a network of more than 220 NHS charities across the country to improve access to healthcare, ease pressure on the NHS, and improve healthcare experiences for patients and staff.
They include EPUT’s Charitable Funds, which helps to pay for ‘little extras’ that make the care our patients receive that bit more special. This includes therapy gardens and recreational equipment.
Sarah, whose stepdaughter also ran the race for the MND Association, said: “It was a very long day and I racked up nearly 50,000 steps by the end of it.
“It was definitely the hardest and most challenging half marathon I have run so far. It was hot and hilly with over 60,000 participants taking part, but the atmosphere was amazing and I would definitely do it again.”
The Great North Run was the third half marathon Sarah has completed this year, and her fifth overall.
She has already signed up for two more half marathons next year and is hoping to complete one abroad and maybe a full marathon one day.
Anyone who would like to sponsor Sarah can visit her fundraising page.
About EPUT
- EPUT has a vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care: Who we are – Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- EPUT provides services to more than 100,000 patients at any one time and our staff are focused on providing high quality care in often complex situations.
- The organisation has invested in inpatient facilities and community services to make them safer and more therapeutic. We have extensively invested in technology to keep patients safer, enhanced training, and are continuously working with our staff, patients, their families and carers to use learning and best practice to enhance our quality of care.
- While there is more to do, the Trust has made significant progress through innovation:
- Our 111 mental health crisis phone line ensures people in need can access support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- People with lived experience have been employed in designated roles across the Trust, ensuring patient voice is heart of the organisation and all that we do.
- A number of new initiatives have been launched, helping people access the support they need when they need it most. These include a mental health urgent care department, By Your Side maternal mental health service, Rough Sleeper team, mental health crisis ambulance cars, virtual wards and neuromodulation service.
- EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 and provides community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex, Luton and Bedfordshire and Suffolk. We employ more than 7,200 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- To read more about our priorities and commitments to deliver the highest quality and safest care possible, visit https://eput.nhs.uk/about-us/2023-2028-strategic-plan/