Nurses go the extra 13 miles for CDU patients

A team of nurses from Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham’s (QEHB) Clinical Decisions Unit will hit the streets of the Second City when they take on the Morrisons Great Birmingham Run for their patients.

The Great Birmingham Run is an annual half marathon- or 13.1 mile- foot race taking place on Sunday 16 October in Birmingham City Centre. Nurses Cait Nee, Sarah Ince, Hannah Laugher, Katrina Coleman and Steph Oakley, along with OPAL Team Leader Natalie Morton, and Healthcare Assistants Georgina Roberts and David Morey, decided to run to raise funds for their ward through QEHB Charity.

This year, all QEHB Charity runners in the Great Birmingham Run have the option to compete for one of three sub-teams: Team Doctor, Team Nurse, or Team Patient. The staff from CDU have decided to run for Team Nurse.
QEHB Charity allows fundraisers to donate to any ward, department or area of expertise throughout the hospital, meaning the funds generated by the generous team will all go to their ward, to be spent on games and activities for use by patients.

Explaining their decision to fundraise for CDU, Cait said: “Our unit is a busy one, and it can be a stressful and uncertain time for patients and their families. We want to raise money for some little extras that will help make their time with us as positive as it can be.

“We’re all looking forward to the big day and running for Team Nurse – and hopefully raising some money for our patients! We want our patients to have the best care possible on CDU and I think part of that is providing a more relaxed environment where they can focus on something other than the fact they’re in hospital.”

Hannah, whose paramedic boyfriend Michael will join the team on the day, added: “We’ve been mostly training separately, although we’re all going for a run in the park at the weekend. I haven’t done a half marathon before so it’ll be a challenge but definitely worth it. Please consider sponsoring us if you can!”

To support the Clinical Decisions Unit at QEHB, please go to justgiving.com/TeamCDU

For more information about entering the Great Birmingham Run for QEHB Charity, go to runforbrum.org