Family raises funds to purchase specialist NHS equipment
Mel Baker was cared for at Priscilla Bacon Lodge by Norfolk Community Health & Care (NCH&C) NHS Trust, and the compassion and dignity shown by the staff meant everything to her family Phil and Georgia. They wanted to give something back in Mel's memory - to help other patients receive the same level of comfort and care during the most difficult moments of their lives.
They chose to raise funds for numerous charities including NCH&C Charitable Fund, focusing on specialist equipment that makes a real, immediate difference to patients. Thanks to their fundraising, the clinical team were able to purchase a specialist tilt-in-space wheelchair and a commode shower chair.
This additional equipment transforms daily care. The tilt wheelchair provides vital postural support and comfort for patients who are weak or in pain, helping reduce pressure sores and allowing them to be safely repositioned. The commode shower chair enables patients to be washed with dignity and comfort, reducing distress and manual handling risks while supporting infection control and privacy.
While the NHS provides essential care, charities help them go further. NHS charity funding allows nursing staff to access specialist equipment more quickly, introduce enhanced comfort measures, and tailor care to individual needs - things that would otherwise be difficult to fund through core budgets alone.
This week they met with Maria Voors, who is a NCH&C physiotherapist that supported Mel, and Carol from NCH&C Charitable Fund. They were shown the equipment that they enabled the Charity to buy and saw how it will support other patients who had similar needs to Mel.
Phil and Georgia's generosity means more patients can be cared for safely, comfortably and with dignity, and more families can focus on spending precious time together.