Supporting NHS
Khalsa Aid is committed to providing assistance and support to those in need, especially during times of crisis. That is why we were deeply concerned to hear about the unbearable pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, which is expected to continue until Easter. As reported by the British Medical Association, waiting times for Accident & Emergency (A&E) in England are now at their highest level since records began, with over 4 million people waiting more than 4 hours for treatment.
In response to this crisis, Khalsa Aid has been delivering refreshing snacks and drinks to A&E departments across numerous London hospitals on a daily basis since 22nd December 2022. We wanted to do our part to help ease the distress caused to both patients and staff, who are working under extremely challenging circumstances.
Our CEO, Ravinder Singh, had this to say about the programme: “If your A&E department needs our support during this hectic and chaotic period, please reach out to us. We are happy to support our frontline workers and those patients who are waiting hours to be treated. Our NHS staff are the real heroes.”
We were humbled to receive tremendous positive feedback within a few days of the programme launching. An example below is from Lucy Tebbit, a healthcare worker at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, who said, “We are so very grateful. I have experienced you all coming round and I know both the staff and patients have been very grateful. We are working in very challenging times and your generosity has made days a little easier. Thank you.” This was one of many wonderful messages we received from both staff and patients.
Many of the patients our volunteers have spoken to have been waiting for up to nine hours and have not had any food or drink in that time, either because the cafes are closed, the hospital vending machine is not working or out of stock, or they are simply afraid to miss their turn in the waiting list.
We are committed to continuing our efforts to support the NHS and its dedicated staff as they work to provide essential care to those in need.
If you know of an A&E department that could use our support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@khalsaaid.org.