Hospital staff are thanking the community for their support during the coronavirus pandemic by giving back a thousand food cans to a foodbank.

Teams at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust have now topped their target by donating more than a thousand cans of food to the Harlow Foodbank for vulnerable local families.

The initiative began when the emergency department team launched their ‘We can with a can’ initiative a month ago, in response to which they have seen a great level of support.

Other teams across the hospital were inspired – and more than a thousand cans of food have been donated to Harlow Foodbank.

The foodbank has been supporting families struggling during the lockdown with non-perishable items such as rice, pasta, noodles and toiletries.

Epping Forest Guardian:

The Covid-19 Strategic Cell at The Princess Alexandra Hospital supporting the ‘Can with a can’

Dawn Sullivan, general manager of the emergency department, said: “We have been absolutely delighted by the generosity and support the community have shown us during the fight against coronavirus.

“We wanted to give something back to show how grateful we are. We heard that the Harlow Foodbank needed canned goods and we thought that with just one can from each member of our 200-strong team in the emergency department, we could make such a difference.

“Together with our colleagues from teams right across the hospital, we have now exceeded our target of 200 cans and have donated more than 1,000 – it’s amazing to have seen such support.

“Thank you to everyone, and I’m hugely proud once again to work alongside such kind and generous PAHT people.”

Ogechi Emeadi, director of people, organisational development and communications at the trust said: “We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support we’ve seen from our local community in the fight against coronavirus. We are extremely pleased to be able to make this contribution to help local families who are struggling during these unprecedented times