More than £4,700 raised for Queen Alexandra Hospital heroes in online appeal

The money has been donated via a JustGiving page set up to help staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital who are stretched as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Dubbed the Portsmouth Hospitals Thank You Appeal 2020, the fund was officially launched in The News today.

As of 8.30pm it had seen an influx of £420 throughout the day, building on a stream of generous pledges made as the page was circulated online.

Waterlooville-based firm Facilities Management Southern Ltd, which provides building services across London and the south, has donated £1,000.

Its co-director, Richard Smith, said: ‘My sister-in-law is on the Covid-19 ward at QA which brings this situation a lot closer to home.

‘I hear through a group chat what they are facing there – it’s really rough.

‘It’s nice to be able to do something for other people, especially now.

‘There really is no more to it than that.’

The fundraiser was launched after QA Hospital was inundated with ‘fantastic’ donations, including food for members of staff, which became difficult to distribute across the site.

Nicole Cornelius, director of workforce and organisational development at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: ‘We are incredibly gratefully for the continued kindness and generosity of our communities at this challenging time.

‘The support we have seen for our staff is overwhelming.

‘All funds raised through the JustGiving appeal will be used to support the wellbeing of our staff across the trust, to buy supplies and fund welfare initiatives in the coming weeks and months.

‘I would like to say a huge thank you to our communities for their ongoing and generous support.’

SEE ALSO: Coronavirus: Five Portsmouth care home residents die - four of them had Covid-19 symptoms

Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, added: ‘Thank you to all those who have donated.

‘Our hospital needs our support and by donating we will also be demonstrating how much their work is valued.

‘Our health service is at its best when it works closely with the voluntary sector.’

To donate to the effort, go to bit.ly/2JL0eII

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers – and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.