Remembering those who gave the gift of life in Torbay and South Devon
After many years of planning and fundraising we will be unveiling a memorial to our organ donors in the main entrance of Torbay Hospital later this year. A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in this project and who has supported our fundraising.
On the memorial we will (with the permission of their next-of-kin) list the names of people whose organ donation took place at our hospital.
We have been in contact with the next-of-kin of everyone who gave the gift of life at Torbay Hospital in the past 10 years and we have been humbled by the overwhelmingly positive response we have received.
But we are also mindful that there will be people who lived in Torbay or South Devon but who, due to accidents, illnesses or personal circumstances, were in other hospitals when their organ donation took place. We would like to make the offer to include their names on our memorial, as local residents who gave the gift of life. If you know of someone who was an organ donor and a local resident but whose donation took place at another hospital (for example, Derriford or Southmead) please share this information with them and ask them to get in touch with Jane Harris.
We will then work with NHS Blood and Transplant to confirm the details.
Support for you and your family during exam season
We know emotions may be high in many households across the Bay at the moment, following the publication of A-level results last week and GCSE results this week.
Congratulations to everyone who has worked hard and received their results. For some people though, things might not have gone to plan or haven’t gone the way we expected, but our Mental Health Support Team in Schools has lots of advice and resources to help you and your child cope and manage any feelings they might have.
Jim, a Senior Wellbeing Practitioner in the team, has shared his top tips about problem solving, a method our teams use to try and find solutions to the things we aren’t prepared for.
He says: “Problem solving helps you to think about who might be able to help from your network and thinking about different solutions you can work through. You can never have too many solutions to a problem. Remember, you are not alone, there are lots of people that can help you and often, the more people involved in coming up with solutions means you’ll find them a lot quicker and easier.”
If you would like more advice, head to Children and Family Health Devon’s website where you will find supportive recourses and information around exams and balancing your mental health as well as a wellbeing plan.