A staff member has spread some festive cheer while fundraising for charity, after the loss of a beloved colleague.
Christmas cracker Carol Wallace, who works as a health care assistant in the antenatal day assessment unit at the University Hospital of North Tees, was raising funds on behalf of Melanoma UK in memory of colleague Sandra Wennington, who died from cancer in October.
Sandra had worked as a ward clerk for the Trust for nearly 20 years – working mainly on the delivery suite. She was a warm, welcome and respected personality who was fondly referred to as ‘the boss’ by colleagues.
Carol said “It’s been a while since I’ve last dressed up to spread cheer and raise funds for charity. But I decided doing something nice for the memory of Sandra was worth getting back into costume for.
“This is the first Christmas without Sandra for both her family and for ourselves. And I wanted to take a moment to do something positive to remember her by and to hopefully do a bit of good by raising funds for Melanoma UK.”
Carol designed and created the cracker costume herself with help from a crafty neighbour and came in on a day off to walk around and collect donations from some of the teams who knew Sandra well.
Ward manager Julie Verity said: “It was with great sadness that we lost fellow colleague Sandra. She was an amazing member of the Trust family and will be missed.
“I think it’s lovely that Carol has take on fundraising in memory of Sandra. We always look forward to her creative outfits to spread a bit of cheer amongst staff and patients alike.”