By Lucy Ashton
A team from the New Victoria Hospital in Glasgow has raised thousands of pounds for kidney research by going for a walk … with Sir Andy Murray by their side!
The team from the Renal Dialysis Unit were among 600 people who took part in the recent Glasgow Bridges Walk to raise money for Kidney Research UK.
The 6.2-mile route started at the Glasgow Science Centre and participants walked up the Clyde, negotiating the nine Clyde crossings from the Millennium Bridge to the Albert Bridge at Glasgow Green, before returning the same way.
“It was a wonderful day out,” said Andrea Sergeant, Senior Charge Nurse in the Renal Dialysis Unit. “10 nurses from the unit took part in the event for our team, but some of renal doctors, transplant surgeons and vascular access nurses from the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital also took part in a separate effort.
“Three patients even joined us with their families, one of whom was a transplant patient, and we’d really like to thank them for their efforts.
“But the star of our team was definitely Sir Andy Murray … no, not the tennis player, but the pet dog of one of our team, Hazel!”
Deciding to take part in the event was a last-minute thing for the team, and they left themselves only two weeks to raise money. However, despite that, they have managed the fantastic total of £3350.
“We’re so proud of that,” said Charge Nurse Peigi Murray – another of the NHSGGC team. “The money will go towards Kidney Research UK – the whole event was for that – but our other main goal was to raise awareness of the charity and its work.
“When we were raising money, lots of people were unaware of the impact of kidney disease and the number of people living with it and the gruelling treatments and procedures our patients have to go through.
“It may not be the most well-known of charities to the general public, but the work Kidney Research UK does is so important to patients who are living with kidney disease, undergoing dialysis or waiting for a transplant. As a team we feel strongly it’s really important that we raise the profile of our service, and of the charity.”
And to make sure they make an even bigger success of it next time, the team has already decided to take part in the 2024 walk and hope to have an even bigger team to include more patients and families.
“If we managed £3350 in two weeks, imagine what we can achieve next time … and maybe the real Sir Andy Murray will fancy joining us too!”
:: If you would like to add to the New Victoria team’s fund-raising total, there’s still time. Just click here.