21st October 2022

In October this, year four brave daredevils took to the skies to raise money for our hospitals.

Strapping themselves onto the wings of a plane, the brave souls flew at speeds of up to 130 miles per hour at heights of 700ft. Completing a series of thrilling manoeuvres and heart-pounding flypasts, together these adrenaline junkies raised £3,300 - and we can't thank them enough!

We found out a little bit more about why they decided to do something great for our hospitals.

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Yvonne Quinn & Neal Tomlinson

Yvonne is a member of staff at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW). She completed the challenge with her friend Neal (pictured left).

She said: "Working in the NHS, and particularly UHBW, it seemed to me the obvious choice to raise money for Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity. My father passed away earlier this year and, although most of his care was provided by Southmead Hospital, he had over the years many appointments and treatment at UHBW and he was always well looked after. I wanted to support the hospitals and teams that I work with on a daily basis and have done for over 30 years.

"The charity supports funding for different projects around the Trust, for staff and patients, that would otherwise not be possible. I know the charity has been able to support a number of projects particularly for staff to improve their working environment – I know how hard and difficult it has been for staff particularly during the pandemic and still is extremely challenging – anything that can be done to help is a blessing."

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Rachel McCoubrie

Rachel (pictured right) is the UHBW wellbeing lead for doctors.

She said: "When I turned 50 last year, I wanted to take on a new challenge to mark that milestone but the pandemic got in the way. When I saw this opportunity, I thought this would be perfect to not only do something new and exciting, but also to raise money for our hospital charity who support so many initiatives for our patients and for staff wellbeing. 

"I feel very lucky to be able to work as the wellbeing lead for doctors in UHBW, and I hope doing this is a way of giving back to help fund future work through the charity. 

"It was the most exhilarating (and chilly!) feeling flying around at about 100mph on top of the plane. I loved it!"

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Nicola Hall

(pictured above)

"My wing walk was windy, a little snotty, a little wobbly, and ultimately scary and awesome all at the same time! It was awesome, I recommend!"

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PHOTO GALLERY

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