Three determined Queenscourt Hospice fundraisers are inviting people to join them for a special Comedy Bingo night as they get ready for their big challenge.
Doctor Shorna Warren (Senior Speciality Doctor in Palliative Medicine), Kristina Ackers (Ward Sister of the In-Patient Unit) and Alison Fossard (PA to Queenscourt’s Medical Director) are in training to take on the famous Wadi Rum Desert Trek Challenge to raise funds for the charity this November.
They have each chosen to self-fund this intense challenge which will see them trekking from Petra in Jordan, through the Wadi Rum Desert, which means that all proceeds donated will go towards Queenscourt Hospice.
The trio will be walking up to eight hours per day, for six consecutive days in temperatures as high as 35 degrees, passing through sand dunes, rocky corridors, deep canyons and stone stairs.
They will be foregoing everyday luxuries choosing to sleep in tents at night alongside desert scorpions, vipers and other critters!
Before they fly out, they will be the star guests at a Comedy Bingo night, as part of the Southport Comedy Festival, on Thursday, 6th October 2022.
It will be held inside a luxury heated and seated marquee at Victoria Park from 7pm.
Tickets are now on sale so why not get a group of friends and family together for this highly interactive show hosted by comedian Brendan Riley.
Please visit southportcomedyfestival.com/whats-on to book your tickets.
Collectively, Shorna, Kristina and Alison have worked at Queenscourt for over a decade and see first-hand the positive impact that donations to the hospice make.
The charity cares for around 2,000 families from around West Lancashire, Southport and Formby every year.
Hospice income struggled through the Covid pandemic with many of the usual fundraising events cancelled.
Queenscourt receives less than 20% of the funds needed from NHS sources and the rest is from charitable contributions. Keeping Queenscourt in service costs £444 an hour or almost £4million per year.
Kristina’s role as Ward Sister is to lead and work alongside the dedicated team of specialist nursing staff, who provide care to the inpatients, their families and those important to them.
She said: “The work this team puts in to provide the care, support and management of patients’ needs is incredible.
“My father-in-law was cared for by Queenscourt Hospice. The care was perfect at the time when he and the family needed it most. It is an honour and a privilege to be part of this team.”
As Senior Speciality Doctor, Shorna’s role entails providing medical care to palliative patients including the inpatients, outpatients, hospital (Southport and Ormskirk hospitals) and the community ofSouthport, Formby and West Lancashire.
She also teaches in the Terence Burgess education Centre at Queenscourt, which involves teaching various health professionals a range of courses including symptom control, advanced communication skills and spirituality.
Shorna said: “I joined Queenscourt Hospice because I have always felt a passion for helping patients living with life limiting disease achieve their best possible quality of life. I love working as part of a team who also share this passion and truly want to make a difference for people.
“I feel very proud of the work we do – I couldn’t imagine myself working anywhere else.”
Alison’s role is to provide a comprehensive PA and Medical Secretarial service to the Medical Director and Education Lead and Medical Secretarial service to all the Specialty Doctors in Palliative Medicine.
She said: “I joined Queensocurt Hospice in July 2014 and feel extremely privileged and proud to work alongside such amazing colleagues supporting patients and their families at a very challenging time in their lives.
“I remember watching Queenscourt Hospice materialise, brick by brick, culminating in Princess Diana’s visit to open Queenscourt in 1992.”
The trio has already smashed their fundraising target of £1,500 and so far has raised nearly £4,500! Any contribution, no matter how small, is hugely appreciated. All money raised will go towards the provision of care to patients.
If you would like to donate, please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/queenscourtwadirum
Or contact the friendly Queenscourt Hospice fundraising team on: fundraising@queenscourt.org.uk
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