Wigan mum's art inspired by dedicated NHS staff raises

Leanne Walsh, from Ashton, depicted a nurse with wings bearing the word “NHS” and posted it on Facebook.

It was a challenge for her, as she developed a functional tremor 10 years ago, lost movement on her left side and had to hold her hand steady to draw the picture.

It quickly proved to be popular, being shared hundreds of times by her friends and NHS staff.

Leanne, 38, said: “I got requests for copies of it in print form. I refused at first, thinking it was silly and it was just a drawing I did. But I thought if people wanted it so badly, I could do something from it.”

She contacted Copycats in Ashton to get prints made and started to sell them.

The mother of two was then asked for window stickers and progressed to selling tote bags too.

Leanne said: “I have posted to south Wales, to Dublin, Spain, Northern Ireland, Scotland. I have posted more than 500 stickers all over the place and prints as well.”

The money soon mounted up and Leanne wanted to use it to help the NHS staff who had worked so hard during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said: “I decided the funds would be given to Wigan’s intensive care unit. I didn’t want it to go to the unit and be lost in a bubble of donations, I wanted the staff to see something from it.”

She has already bought tables, chairs, cutlery and dinner services for the staff room at Wigan Infirmary’s intensive care unit, along with a microwave for staff on Billinge ward.

Leanne adapted her drawing to make one for carers and recently used some of the money raised from that to buy a coffee machine for staff at Ashton View care home.

She is still selling the items and hopes to raise even more money for healthcare staff.

Leanne said: “I didn’t think this would happen. At first I said it was a silly little drawing, but for everyone else something in it and what it represented touched on something.”

Leanne, who cannot walk unaided, has been delivering orders locally in her mobility scooter with her dog Fudge or is driven by her husband.

She praised staff at Copycats for their support.

Prints, stickers and bags are available to order from Leanne’s NHS Symbol of Hope Facebook group.

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