TEAMS at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust have kindly decided to support the Harlow Foodbank by encouraging colleagues to donate cans of food for vulnerable local families.

The initiative began when the emergency department (ED) team launched their ‘We can with a can’ initiative two weeks ago, in response to which they have already seen a great level of support. This inspired other teams across the hospital to also get involved. The hospital currently has approximately 500 cans of goods to donate to the foodbank – with more adding to the total every day.

The Harlow Foodbank is in need of tinned goods to help local families in these difficult times. They would also very gratefully receive other non-perishable items, such as rice, pasta, noodles, and toiletries.

The hospital is encouraging as many staff as possible to take part – those who are currently working remotely can pledge a donation to be made by a team member at the hospital on their behalf.

Dawn Sullivan, general manager of the emergency department, said: “We have been absolutely delighted by the generosity and support the community have shown us during the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19).

“We wanted to give something back to show how grateful we are. We heard that the Harlow Foodbank needed canned goods and we thought that with just one can from each member of our 200-strong team in the emergency department, we could make such a difference.”

Ogechi Emeadi, director of people, organisational development and communications, said: “Thank you to the emergency department (ED) team for thinking of this wonderful idea, which we have all been inspired by. We want to keep the initiative rolling, with many colleagues continuing to join in.

“We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support we’ve seen from our local community in the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19). We are extremely pleased to be able to make this contribution to help local families who are struggling during these unprecedented times.”