Staff raise their mugs and pour tea to celebrate NHS Big Tea

NHS staff, patients and communities from across Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Salford raised a cuppa on Monday (5 July) to celebrate the NHS’s 73rd birthday thanks to NorthCare Charity’s NHS Big Tea events.

The charity joined in with the nation’s biggest tea break by providing thousands of tea and treats for the 20,000 staff who work across the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group (NCA). Charity staff and volunteers held Big Tea hubs at the NCA’s four hospitals so staff could collect goody bags on behalf of their colleagues to encourage them to take a well-deserved break as a thank you for their hard work during the pandemic.

Staff also got into the birthday spirit the best they could by organising their own socially-distanced events. These included a Mad Hatters Tea Party and garden celebrations at Rochdale Infirmary and a vintage tea party for patients at the Floyd Unit – a neuro rehabilitation unit in Rochdale. The NCA’s community teams received tea and treats so they could join in with celebrations, while staff working from home raised a brew and shared their Mug of Thanks selfies and videos on social media.

Local schools, businesses and community groups also held their own Big Tea events to say thank you to the NHS champions working across the NCA. These ranged from school tea parties and dress down days to companies donating items and raising a brew virtually during their online calls.

NHS Big Tea LogoNorthCare Charity Fundraising Officer Sian Howarth, who oversaw NHS Big Tea, said: “Following a year like no other, we are extremely grateful to our wonderful NHS staff and volunteers for all they have done. They have been at the forefront of the response to one of the biggest challenges our country has ever faced. NHS Big Tea was a chance to show our support for them by joining a national outpouring of thanks. We are so grateful to everyone who supported the day and raised a brew to our NHS champions.”

The charity was able to provide tea and treats to staff thanks to generous donations from Asda, Bird and Blend Tea, Burtons Biscuits, Morrisons stores in Swinton, Heywood, Oldham and Whitefield, Pladis Global and NHS Supply Chain, Tetley and The Work Perk.

Thanks to CH&CO, staff working at Salford Royal were able to claim a free mini Danish pastry from the staff restaurant, while those working at Fairfield General Hospital, The Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary received a free morning brew from their restaurants thanks to the NCA’s catering teams.

The charity raised £380 on the day through its raffle and donations for charity mugs. Raffle winners received Tea for Two at Cloud23, Hilton, thanks to a donation from Hilton Deansgate, a Daikin picnic set thanks to a donation from AC Ventilation, and two Russell Hobbs Legacy coffee makers.

Twenty staff also received a free mug from the charity after being nominated by their colleagues through a social media campaign to recognise those who have made a difference over the past year.

NHS Big Tea is a national fundraising event organised each year by NHS Charities Together, which has supported NorthCare Charity with grants over the past year to help improve staff wellbeing activities across the NCA.