Brothers' gift to thank Wigan Infirmary staff for treating their dad for coronavirus

Two brothers found a fitting way to thank the medics at Wigan Infirmary who cared for their father as he battled coronavirus.
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Fred Stuart, 73, was treated by staff on the hospital’s Pemberton and Winstanley wards for around three weeks, before being discharged at the end of last month.

Now, his sons Mark and Lee Stuart, from Wigan, have shown their gratitude by buying 1,000 accredited face masks for frontline staff.

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Mark, who runs Skelmersdale-based generator business Stuart Energy with his brother, said: “Our father is still with us because of one reason – the incredible and hard-working staff who cared for him at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary.

Lee and Mark Stuart present the masks to Jack Taylor, centre, from the trust's donations teamLee and Mark Stuart present the masks to Jack Taylor, centre, from the trust's donations team
Lee and Mark Stuart present the masks to Jack Taylor, centre, from the trust's donations team

“Words cannot describe how grateful we are to have him home. To say April was a tough month would be an understatement. First our business, like all businesses across the country, was hugely affected and then our dad fell seriously ill with Covid-19.

“However, the business quickly pales into insignificance when a family member is affected so badly by this virus.”

Lee added: “Both Mark and I said we have to do something to say thanks to the staff on both the Winstanley and Pemberton wards who cared so brilliantly for our dad.

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“So, through our contacts and a supplier we use for the business, we decided to pay for these masks ourselves and give something back to the local NHS staff who are doing so much for our communities and got our dad back on his feet.”

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, last month launched a Healthcare Heroes Fund through its Three Wishes charity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was set up following inquiries from members of the community asking how they could help and all donations, whether financial or physical items, will go to support staff and their well-being.

Alison Balson, director of workforce, said: “The trust would like to reassure staff, patients and members of the public that there are sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment, including face masks, disposable gowns and scrubs to keep our staff safe while they are looking after our patients.

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“However, support and donations are always welcome and building up our supplies against this pandemic is extremely important.

“We cannot express our gratitude enough to people like Lee and Mark. The response from the community has been incredible and all donations from the WWL

Healthcare Heroes Fund will go towards supporting staff welfare.”

To donate money to the fund:

Text WWLHEROES to 70480, donate £5 (texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message)

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Visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/wwlheroes to make a donation or set up your own fund-raising page

Call 01942 822325 or 01942 264390 to make a payment by credit card

Cheques payable to Three Wishes Charity, with WWL Healthcare Heroes written on the back, can be given to general offices on any trust site or posted to General Office, Wigan Infirmary

Cash can be paid into any general office at the trust’s sites

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Anyone wishing to give physical items should email [email protected] so the trust’s donation team can provide advice on what to do.

The trust needs to ensure all donations of surgical equipment and kit are quality checked and meet appropriate standards.

It cannot accept anything fresh or perishable as there is no guarantee it will go to a specific area or be used.

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