Hospital workers to sleep out in aid of homeless military veterans

Hospital workers will swap their warm beds for sleeping bags as part of ‘The Great Tommy Sleep Out’ in aid of homeless military veterans.

Emma Colley, an Emergency Care Technician, and Sarah Millington, a Healthcare Assistant (HCA), who both work in the Emergency Department at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford will be joined by others to sleep out on the Wrekin.

Fifteen adults including doctors, nurses, HCAs and non-clinical staff from The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and four children have so far offered to join the pair on Saturday 29 March. 

The sleep out is a national award-winning fundraising challenge, raising money for the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) to support veterans that are experiencing homelessness.

Sarah said: “We will spend the night sleeping outside on the Wrekin. It will be cold and probably wet but it’s nothing compared to what some veterans are facing day in, day out. 

“The RBLI also supports veterans to find work and lead independent lives. These are our patients, patient’s family members and colleagues and we want to show our support.

“We are being supported by the ‘Yellow Ribbon Campaign’ who are providing a space for us to sleep and ‘From our Oven’ in Telford who are providing food for the group.”

Emma said: “I was heartbroken to hear recently of a young woman who is ex-military and living in her car, with no fixed address. Our veterans should not be living like this.”

Nigel Lee, Director of Strategy and Partnerships, said: “As a Trust we are committed to supporting Armed Forces personnel, past and present, across our community. As a military veteran myself, I am so proud of our staff who have decided to go further and fundraise for this important challenge, highlighting the struggles that some of our veterans are facing every day.”

It is estimated that 6,000 veterans are currently sleeping rough in the UK. Over 7,000 people slept outside last year for ‘The Great Tommy Sleep Out’, raising £1.2million for the challenge.