Queenscourt Hospice doctor and nurse trek across Wadi Rum Desert to raise over £8,000 for charity

A doctor and a nurse from Queenscourt Hospice have raised thousands of pounds by trekking across the Wadi Rum Desert. 

Shorna Warren (Senior Speciality Doctor) and Kristina Ackers (Ward Sister) completed the  totally unique self-funded challenge of a lifetime as their way of supporting the hospice, which cares for patients across Southport, Formby and West Lancashire. 

The Wadi Rum Deset, also known as ‘the Valley of the Moon’, is a beautiful valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan, near the border to Saudi Arabia.  

The Wadi Rum Protected Area has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2011. 

A Queenscourt Hospice spokesperson said: “Not only did they walk for up to 8 hours a day for 6 consecutive days in temperatures as high as 35 degrees, they raised an absolutely amazing £8,219. 

“After trekking through rocky corridors, deep canyons and stone stairs by day, Shorna and Kristina then slept in tents each night alongside desert scorpions and vipers amongst other critters.

Shorna Warren (Senior Speciality Doctor) and Kristina Ackers (Ward Sister) at Queenscourt Hospice trekked the Wadi Rum Desert for the charity

“After returning to the UK the ladies were straight back to work and it’s not been easy to track them down, they’ve been so busy.

“We wanted to take a moment to say a huge thank you to Shorna and Kristina.

“It really is true what they say, not all superheroes wear capes. We are so lucky that we have some working at Queenscourt wearing their doctors and nurses uniforms every day!”  

If you would like to support Queenscourt Hospice please visit: queenscourt.org.uk

Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com