Chris Pointon, Co-founder of #HelloMyNameIs… is supporting the Big Thank You campaign, which encourages Leeds residents to thank their winter hero.
The citywide Big Thank You campaign encourages people to say a thank you to anyone who they see as a winter hero – from an individual through to a community group or a service. People are also encouraged to sign up to be winter heroes, taking small steps that can improve their, or their loved ones, health as well as looking out for vulnerable community members.
Chris Pointon, Co-founder of #HelloMyNameIs, said: “The idea of the Big Thank You campaign is great, it’s about thanking those winter heroes who are compassionate towards others and go above and beyond for people during winter. The ‘Hello my name is…’ campaign set up by my late wife Kate Granger, is all about compassion and I’m really pleased to lend my support to get people to say thank you.
“You can thank anyone for this or previous winters, this could be a friend, family member, work colleague or your neighbour. It could be someone who may have done a small act of kindness that made a huge difference to yourself, or someone you know during the winter period. People will be able to post their thank you message on the Big Thank You website (www.bigthankyouleeds.co.uk), it’s really easy to do and shouldn’t take no more than a few minutes.
“There are so many people and organisations that I want to thank, who’ve helped me during the winter months. I’ve posted my thank you message and would really encourage others to also do this. There are a number of public events taking place across the city to encourage people to share their thank you message, if you see the team do have a chat with them.”
Dr Jason Broch, Assistant Clinical Chair, NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Having Chris on board for the Big Thank You campaign is fantastic. With Chris’s support we’re hoping that it will encourage other people in Leeds to thank their winter heroes.
“Sharing your thank you message will only take five minutes or less by visiting the website (www.bigthankyouleeds.co.uk), you can then share your message on Facebook or Twitter. We’ve had over 500 thank you messages from people across the city as well as people from outside of the city.
“If you don’t have access to the internet we can send you paper copies where you can thank your winter hero just call us on 0113 84 35529 to request these.”
The next public event will be taking place at the following venue (no booking required), and the CCG will be announcing more events soon:
- Saturday 2 February – Kentmere Community Centre
Visit the Big Thank You website to thank a unsung winter hero: www.bigthankyouleeds.co.uk
ENDS
Hello my name is…
The ‘Hello my name is’….. campaign is focused on reminding healthcare staff to introduce themselves to patients properly as it advocates that a confident introduction is the first step to providing compassionate care and is often all it takes to put patients at ease and make them feel relaxed whilst using our services.
The campaign was set up and driven by Dr Kate Granger, a doctor who had terminal cancer and experienced what it was like to be a patient; she said that one of the starkest observations on the quality of her care had been that not all staff who approached her introduced themselves to her. Kate sadly passed away on 23 July 2016, however her legacy continues through the ‘Hello my name is…’ campaign.
More information and resources are available from www.hellomynameis.org.uk
The ‘Big Thank You’ campaign
The campaign is a partnership approach involving the city’s NHS organisations, Leeds City Council, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, West Yorkshire Police (Leeds District), British Transport Police West Yorkshire and community and voluntary organisations who are recognising the dedication and hard work that staff do every year to help people through winter.
Issued by the communications team at NHS Leeds CCG. You can contact the team on 0113 84 35528 or 0113 84 35470. Alternatively please email us: [email protected]