NHS Highland staff raise funds in virtual challenge from Land’s End to John O’Groats
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Sixteen staff members from NHS Highland have raised more than £2300 for charity after travelling the equivalent of Land’s End to John O’Groats by running, walking or cycling.
The staff, who work across a number of roles in rehabilitation and neurology, added up the cumulative miles they exercised during June as part of a fundraising initiative with all donations going to Highland Hospice.
Dr Barbara Chandler, consultant in rehabilitation medicine at NHS Highland, said: “At the start of the pandemic we became aware of how easy it was not to take the normal amount of exercise and keep fit. We set ourselves some targets and motivated each other to go out more.
“We also became aware of the difficulty many charities are experiencing at this time with fundraising and the cancellation of big events such as local festivals. We therefore combined the two and decided to raise money for Highland Hospice.
"We already had a close working relationship with the hospice and greatly value the work of the palliative care service.”
Everyone on the team embraced the idea of improving their fitness to such an extent that within a few weeks they had reached their virtual destination of John O’Groats – covering a total of 1565 miles and almost doubling the original target of £1200 on their JustGiving page.
Dr Sheena Murdoch, consultant neurologist at NHS Highland, said: “There was lots of motivation in the team and everyone had a personal target. It has been a fantastic way of team-building and improving wellbeing and I hope it is something we will all continue to do.”
The donation page will be up until the end of July.
