Wigan hospital staff join the race for Christmas number one

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Intensive Care Unit colleagues will be part of a Zoom choir of 100 members of NHS staff that work on units across the country.

They are releasing a re-make of the classic song “Every Breath You Take”.

The single is being released to raise funds to support NHS staff mental health and well-being, following the challenges of 2020 brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Staff are taking part in a bid to get the covered song to number one this Christmas.

Sheena Wright, matron on the trust’s ICU Department and Dr Alison Quinn, consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine, are the two Wigan staff taking part and reached out to the virtual choir, ICU Liberty Singers, via twitter.

Dr Quinn said that an original idea to sing a few Chrstimas songs as a distraction from their busy shifts snowballed into a choir and NHS staff recording a song together.

She said: “The original idea was that we would sing a few songs on the run up to Christmas as a way of breaking the stress of working in Intensive Care.

“It’s been a welcome distraction, when we get home from a busy shift, to be able to virtually join so many of our ICU colleagues across the country and sing together.

“The idea snowballed and the choir grew; which has subsequently resulted in us recording a song together, which is due to be released on December 18.

She added: “Singing our song reminds me of every one of our patients who have been part of our ICU family.”

The ICU Liberty Choir began as an attempt to bring some fun and respite to NHS workers, especially ICU staff, after the toughest year in history.

The choir members are made up of nurses, doctors and allied health professionals, who have been working on the frontline throughout the crisis.

ICU staff from all over the country, virtually met for the first time on Zoom on November 25.

During this time, they were able to sing a range of songs and ‘let go’ of the enormous pressure they have faced all year for a short hour.

They came together in the spirit of fun and relaxation.

All money raised will go to create a fund, managed through the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine,, to provide wellbeing and mental health support for staff after an extraordinarily impactful year.

The single will be released on Friday (December 18) and will be available for download and streaming on all platforms such as Spotify, ITunes, Apple Music.

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