NHS Hero Support

Doctors, nurses, and other health workers need to work safely during the coronavirus outbreak, but there is a problem – they don’t have enough high-grade Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as the high-grade face masks recommended when dealing with contagious diseases.

These equipment shortages are putting health professionals at risk personally, and it’s hampering their efforts to care for their patients – one of our doctor contacts says his team is already down by 20% – a fact that underlines the urgency of the situation.

That’s where you, and the NHS Hero Support fundraiser, come in.

With your donations, NHS Hero Support – created by a group of volunteer campaigners and fundraisers, logistics and procurement specialists – is helping to get more of the right PPE to NHS doctors, nurses and other health workers, so that they can get on with their job safely. Within days of setting up, we have already delivered thousands of high-grade protective masks direct to hospitals.

The challenge is huge, but thanks to your generous donations we are starting to fill some of the gaps. We’ve sourced thousands more high-grade facemasks – now all we have to do is pay for them and ship them to where they are needed. Your generosity will make that happen. Our medical contacts tell us the masks we’ve already delivered are making a real difference to them and their teams, as they face the worst health crisis they’ve ever had to deal with. 

Please donate what you can today, and if you can’t donate in these challenging times, then please share our fundraiser with your friends and family.

The NHS Hero Support team is a citizens procurement service. It was set up when individual doctors contacted us for our help – they were desperately trying to buy and source PPE for themselves and their colleagues. This was clearly wrong! Doctors and nurses are needed on the frontline, and shouldn’t be spending time trying to get the equipment they need – that’s why we set up this crowdfunder to help where we can. 

The task ahead is great, and the country is coming together as never before. Millions of us are volunteering, donating, and doing what we can in a truly national effort as we face this unprecedented health emergency – NHS Hero Support is part of that national effort.

Want to know more?
We are working directly with doctors and other specialists to ensure we get the right, certified equipment to the right places, and are building an amazing team of logistics and procurement specialists to source and ship this vital PPE fast. And because we are all volunteers, you can be sure that every single pound donated is being used to get this PPE to hospitals. 

Website
http://nhsherosupport.co.uk

For more details of shortages and the impact on doctors and nurses see:
Not fit for purpose


What next?
We have met our first objective of buying and distributing a consignment of masks to frontline clinical staff. We are now fielding requests from doctors and large hospital trusts, who are telling us what help they need. Raising substantial funds means we can provide in bulk protective masks and other vital equipment that overstretched hospitals are struggling to get. 

Please help us to deliver even more PPE to our NHS heroes on the frontline. Every pound you donate protects an NHS Hero in their work. 


Who are we?

We are a collaborative group of volunteers with backgrounds in healthcare, procurement, comms, business, tech, fundraising and politics who have been increasingly alarmed at the government's failure to commit to speedily purchasing to increase our ventilator capacity and the lack of PPE on the ward for so many of our clinical friends.

Dr Alisa Pearlstone
PhD in neuroscience. Fifteen-year career in science writing and medical education. CSO of healthcare communications business for ten years, working with doctors, hospitals and scientists around the world to support clinical practice improvement through educational initiatives. Has worked pro bono for a healthcare charity, runs environmental initiatives and helped to set up the London branch of an international homelessness charity, Miracle Messages.

Dr Kate Hammer
Cross-disciplinary PhD followed by a 20+ career as a semiotician (working with how meaning emerges and is transmitted in culture) and psychologically minded coach. Kate’s consulting experience ranges across architecture/engineering, biotech, chemical, FMCG, healthcare, information, public health, tech sectors. As an employee in a global NGO 1998-2000, Kate contributed to the AIDS pandemic response and the early days of Roll Back Malaria. For a dozen years, Kate volunteered in her parish and local school communities.

Maggie Lin
SOAS Universe of London LLM Specialism in international trade law. Has worked in international law firms and International companies legal department and owned business in international travel and shopping business consulting area, especially between China and Europe.

Rishi Baungally 
Imperial College - Computer Science & Maths BSc , CASS Business School - Quantitative Finance MSc.
Has worked and owned businesses in many sectors including IT, Investment Banking, Property Development, Health and Beauty & International Trade and Procurement. Vast array of skill set from varied work but connecting with people is what I have learnt is the most important skill in life.

Rob Fraser
MA in Mathematics from Cambridge University. Varied career working in research, analysis and project management across a number of companies in the private sector. He has utilised a wide variety of modelling techniques to help streamline the data analysis processes. Rob has become deeply engaged in community and political projects in the last few years and aspires to make a difference in the everyday life of people across the country.

Rob Miller
Digital communications expert with a background in healthcare technological solutions development. CEO of a medical education agency for ten years, developing global programmes for healthcare clients and delivering large scale clinical practice enhancement across diverse regions. Serial entrepreneur with a solid business management background. Passionate environmentalist.

Sue Ellar
MSc in Medical Radiation Physics, Diploma of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. 18-year career in IT Systems within Higher Education. Passionate activist, conducting nationwide digital campaigns utilising collaboration platforms and social media. Natural Voice Community Choir leader advocating group harmony singing for mental and physical wellbeing. Runs Woodland Voices community choir, the Cardiff University wellbeing choir and Sing For Water Cardiff.