Colleagues from Integrated Care 24’s NHS 111 contact centre in Ipswich have raised £3,300 for East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH). This fundraising campaign was inspired by EACH's continued dedication to supporting families with children who have life-threatening health conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

IC24's NHS 111 contact centre in Ipswich, which serves patients in mid and south Essex who dial 111, chose EACH as its annual charity due to the charity’s much-needed support for families going through unthinkable and difficult times. EACH's family-centred approach includes specialist nursing care, wellbeing activities, therapies and end of life care. EACH operates The Treehouse in Ipswich, a facility with five bedrooms for children and accommodation for families to use for overnight stays. EACH also delivers care and support in the community, family homes and hospitals. Though the NHS 111 service and EACH's offering cannot be compared, they both have a vested interest in providing a lifeline to those in need during difficult times.

Over the past year, IC24 colleagues have come together to run various internal fundraising campaigns to raise money for this impressive charity. This includes a weekly tuck shop, Christmas fancy dress competitions and various raffles in 2020. Due to the pandemic, this was the first chance to officially make the donation.

Rachel Dally, Corporate Fundraising Assistant at EACH, said: “IC24 have worked incredibly hard to support EACH during a particularly difficult season, even when they’ve experienced an influx of NHS 111 calls. We are really grateful to staff at IC24 for their continued efforts and for raising funds that could go towards funding a clinical nurse specialist for one month.”

Paul Jessup, Team Manager at IC24's Ipswich NHS 111 Contact Centre, said: "We’re delighted to have raised £3,300 for EACH after such a challenging year. EACH is doing vital work for our local community and this donation equates to a monthly salary for one of their clinical nurse specialists. I'd like to thank them for everything they’re continuing to do for families during these difficult times."