A midwifery team supporting Hull families who experience the death of their babies has won a prestigious national award.

The Bereavement Team at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital after they won Maternity Team of the Year in the MAMA Academy Awards on November 19.

Hull’s Bereavement Team – Lead Bereavement Midwife Ainsley Belton, Maternity Bereavement Support Worker Sam Catanach and Bereavement Midwife Jenna Cadden – were named Maternity Team of the Year after beating off competition from the Bereavement Team at King’s College Hospital, London, St Mary’s Birth Centre in Leicester, Lewisham and Greenwich Bereavement Midwives in London and Wirral University Teaching Hospital in Merseyside.

Members of the Bereavement Team Ainsley Belton, Jenna Cadden and Sam Catanach

Yvonne McGrath, Group Director of Midwifery at NHS Humber Health Partnership, said: “We couldn’t be prouder of our Maternity Bereavement Team in Hull. They put families at the heart of everything they do to ensure we offer compassionate care for as long as they need us at the most difficult time in any parent’s life.

“The dedication and commitment of Ainsley, Jenna and Sam underlines the progress we are making to introduce new ways of working and innovative services to deliver the best possible care for all parents and their babies.”

Winning the national award is the latest success for the team after they won Outstanding Clinical Team at the Golden Stars awards ceremony, held by Humber Health Partnership in September, to celebrate staff and their achievements.

The MAMA Academy, set up to reduce the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in the UK,  holds its annual MAMA Awards Ceremony to celebrate the dedication and commitment of health care professionals who support parents and their babies.

Heidi Eldridge, founder of the MAMA Academy, read out the team’s nomination, outlining the team’s work, telling how they support families from the moment they receive the news that their baby has died, help with investigations and funerals and support families for up to four months.

She highlighted just some of their work from setting up a peer-to-peer support group for parents who have lost their babies to building the Rainbow Clinic to support families with subsequent pregnancies after they’ve lost a child. She also highlighted their work to set up a Remembrance Service during last month’s Baby Loss Awareness Week, attended by more than 100 people.

Heidi said: “Sam, Ainsley and Jenna are the dream team that everybody wants in their hospital.

“That is just remarkable work in such a short space of time so thank you so much. I’m sure many guests here tonight will be inspired by your dedication. Thank you.”

We’re a nation of pet lovers, and those who enjoy the company of an animal at home will know the joy they can bring.

At the same time, hospital staff and volunteers are bringing that same uplifting feeling to patients at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital to aid their recovery and wellbeing.

Having first introduced Pets as Therapy (PAT) dogs to the hospitals in 2022, the initiative has proved incredibly popular and now, the team of furry, four-legged recruits has reached double figures for the first time.

Rachael Hardcastle-Pearce, Interim Group Head of Voluntary Services for NHS Humber Health Partnership says:

“Therapy dogs have been used in hospital settings for many years to help patients of all ages.

Hugo, pictured here with owner Yvonne, is the hospitals’ longest serving therapy dog

“Here in Hull, we’re proud to say that we don’t just receive visits from therapy dogs and their owners, but they’re actually part of our registered team of volunteers.

“Earlier this month, we were thrilled to recruit our tenth and eleventh volunteer therapy dogs and their owners to our team, meaning we now have more paws than ever to walk the wards.

“Animals can make a huge, positive difference in a hospital setting. They can serve as a welcome distraction for patients who may be awaiting surgery, for example, who may be in pain, or who are struggling to find ways to occupy their time, as a few days in a hospital bed can feel like a very long time!

“Many patients who come into hospital are used to having their own pet at home and may be missing them, so there’s often something comforting and familiar too when the dogs walk on the wards.

“One of the most powerful things the dogs can do though, is to bring people together and get people talking.

“It’s not unusual for patients to be admitted to hospital and to be very frightened or withdrawn; we often see this in young people or in elderly people and those with dementia. Bringing a therapy dog in really encourages people to open up; often they may begin by talking to or fussing the dog, but then it naturally leads on to conversation with its owner, fellow patients or our hospital staff.

“Social interaction is so important for patients’ wellbeing and recovery, to enable our staff to fully understand them and meet their needs, and the dogs can really help to get those conversations started where other efforts may previously have failed.”

The first and longest serving four-legged recruit is Hugo, an 11-year-old Border Terrier owned by Yvonne from Hull.

Denis and his cockerpoo, Barney, volunteer in the intensive care units at both HRI and Castle Hill Hospital

Yvonne says: “Hugo and I both absolutely love visiting the Trust. We started by visiting care homes, then moved on to Hull Royal a couple of years ago then on to volunteer in the Queen’s Centre at Castle Hill. We’re in a really nice routine now and see similar staff each week; it’s very much like a family in the Queen’s Centre, and we have been able to build up a good relationship with patients and staff. We both look forward each week to visiting the hospital to volunteer.”

Racking up the award for most hours worked is Barney, a Cockerpoo owned by Denis and Janet, who can regularly be found walking the wards at Hull Royal Infirmary, including paediatrics and intensive care.

And among the newest pups on patrol is 2-year-old Ralphie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel owned by Gill from Hull.

Gill says: “I took Ralphie to visit an unwell relative at a care home, he went down well and helped to calm the residents which inspired me to come to the hospital as a volunteer with Ralphie. My favourite thing is seeing the pleasure he gives to the patients and staff – it gives patients a break and brings a bit of joy into their hospital stay.”

Since January this year, the hospital’s team of therapy dogs and their owners have donated an amazing 805 hours of their time to support patients’ recovery and bring smiles to staff, patients and visitors alike.

She was born days after the National Health Service was created and dedicated almost six decades of her life to caring for others.

Now, Maureen Scaife has finished her last shift as a staff nurse at the age of 76 after completing 58 years’ service to the NHS.

“A lot of the nurses I’ve mentored over the years have said that if they had to come into hospital, I’d be the one they’d want to look after them,” says Maureen, presented with the Chief Nurse’s Award at the Nursing, Midwifery and Health Care Professionals Conference in Hull on Monday.

“But it’s time for me to enjoy a bit of ‘me time’ now.”

Group Chief Nurse Amanda Stanford, left, with Maureen Scaife

Maureen was born in Beverley Road on July 31, 1948, 24 days after the NHS began. After leaving school, she went to work in the Jackson’s on Greenwood Avenue and, one day, when a customer collapsed in the shop, she rushed to help and the idea of a career in nursing began.

She started her training as a State Enrolled Nurse in 1966, learning on the job as she worked shifts in local hospitals including Hull Royal Infirmary, Kingston General, the Sutton Annex.

Maureen was one of the student nurses chosen to form an arc of honour as the Queen officially opened Hull Royal Infirmary in June 1967.

When she qualified in 1969, she worked on the brand-new geriatric unit at Castle Hill Hospital. “Back in those days, geriatric patients were kept in cot beds but this new unit was all about getting them dressed in their own clothes, getting them to a table to eat meals and generally treating them better.

“When you first started nursing, you were always put on the geriatric wards because they said it would make or break you. It was hard graft back then. There were no hoists or slide sheets so there was a lot of lifting and you’d to feed everyone as well. It was really hard when I first started but I managed it.”

It was progress, and Maureen, who had two children, had a ringside seat as patient care continued to evolve over the years. She worked in different wards over the years including the Young Disability Unit (YDU), a rehabilitation unit at Castle Hill, and Ward 22, then a respiratory ward.

Known affectionately by the many colleagues who have worked and learned alongside her as “Maureen 118” after the series of radio adverts, Maureen watched hospital care become more patient-focused over the years, with people given more choice about how they wished to be treated. “Back in the day, if the matron said a patient had to be bathed, that was it – they were bathed and no questions asked.”

Her partner died of a brain haemorrhage in 1999 and she transferred to surgical wards on the sixth floor of Hull Royal Infirmary, moving closer to the hospital so she could walk to work. At the same time, she converted her SEN registration to qualify as a State Registered Nurse after two years of studying at university.

At 65, she retired from her full-time job in surgery and went onto the bank, picking up shifts mainly on Ward 5 looking after patients with respiratory problems.

When Covid began, Maureen was kept away from working on the Covid wards because of her increased risk of the virus because of her age. Instead, she worked in the Patient Discharge Lounge, where she’s worked for the last four years picking up about two or three shifts a month./

“The patients used to say I was ‘old school’ because of how I worked,” she says. “Matrons were different in those days and we used to stand to attention when they came onto the wards.

“But I really enjoyed the camaraderie on the YDU and Ward 5 and there’s no doubt that I’ve seen massive improvements in patient care. You don’t see bed sores in patients now compared to what we used to see and we didn’t have link nurses in the 1970s like we do now. Nursing has come on leaps and bounds.”

Now, the time’s right for Maureen to retire fully and she’s spending her time meeting her friends and former workmates for coffee, enjoying days out to the East Yorkshire coast and York.

Amanda Stanford, Group Chief Nurse at Humber Health Partnership, the organisation running Hull University Teaching Hospitals and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust, paid tribute to Maureen.

Amanda said: “She has spent her entire career caring for our patients and I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to Maureen for everything she’s done for us and the people we look after.

“Many of our staff have benefited from Maureen’s vast experience and we thank her for how generous she’s been to share her knowledge and skills with countless other members of staff over the years.

“We hope Maureen enjoys her well-deserved retirement after dedicating her entire career to nursing and the care of other people.”

Hull is leading the way nationally for neonatal care following investment of over £1.3 million.

Physical expansion of the unit within Hull Women and Children’s Hospital began in October 2023 to accommodate more intensive care and high dependency cots, improved parent and family facilities, additional equipment and a dedicated staff training suite.

Funded by a £1.2 million grant from NHS England plus local contractor donations and £100,000 from the hospital charity’s “Space to Grow Appeal”, the centre is now one of the leading providers of Level 3 intensive care in the country for babies as young as 22 weeks.

Francesca Matthews, Neonatal Matron says:

“As one of just four level 3 units in the Yorkshire and Humber region, we regularly provide care for some of the most seriously ill and premature babies across our area, but we have accepted babies in the past from as far afield as Northampton and Stevenage because of our specialist experience and facilities.

The Red Room in Hull’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

“Work to expand our unit began in October 2023, and it has taken just shy of a year to complete the refurbishment, to open all our additional cots, and to fully recruit to the team.

“As well as being able to care for more critically ill and high dependency babies in more modern and suitable surroundings, the expansion of the unit also allows flexibility in the wider system. Our maternity colleagues have greater confidence supporting high risk birthing people as they know we have the skills and facilities on site should they be needed, and we can flex to take babies from outside of our immediate geographical area too.”

One year on, and the unit has expanded to be able to accommodate up to 29 babies in total. Its capacity to care for the sickest or most premature babies has also increased, rising from five to seven intensive care cots, plus NICU now boasts ten high dependency cots, upon from the previous figure of seven.

NICU staff say the improvements have served as a real morale boost, but you don’t have to take their word for it, as the figures speak for themselves.

Pre-term outcomes for neonates are now among the best in the country, with 2023 National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP) data showing mortality rates, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) rates to be lower than the national average for units of similar level.

Across the Yorkshire and Humber region, Hull currently ranks as the best performing Level 3 unit for undertaking a first parent consultation within 24 hours, babies being screened for preventable visual problems (ROP screening), and also reports the lowest regional mortality rates.

Staff turnover is incredibly low at between 1 and 2 per cent; the ward has no current vacancies and one of the most recent advertisements for a staff nurse, owing to the unit’s expansion, attracted more than 120 applicants. The team is recognised as a regional exemplar when it comes to the provision of staff training and development.

Crucially, the team is also doing an excellent job in the eyes of the families they support, as demonstrated through the high level of engagement in parental discussion and support groups, including one specifically set up for dads.

Hull’s NICU is able to care for babies as young as 22 weeks

“We’re so thankful for the investment which has enabled us to provide more tailored care to more families across this part of the country and beyond,” says Dr Ellie Peirce, Neonatal Clinical Lead.

“The expansion took a lot of work but we now have the facilities to offer the high standard of care to which we’ve always aspired, and to even more babies. We take every baby we can and do the best we can on every shift; whatever each baby needs, it’s our mission to try and give it.

“The job can be tough but it’s the teamwork that often gets us through; staff have been really accommodating as we’ve had to adapt shift patterns and expand rotas to manage our additional capacity, but this is testament to how committed the team is to doing their best for children and families in our care.”

In addition to national funding of £1.2 million, the WISHH Charity’s “Space to Grow Appeal” funded a further £100,000 of improvements which ordinarily fall outside of mainstream health budgets. On this occasion, the efforts of local donors, supporters and fundraisers were able to fund a sensory room, a specialist staff training facility, enhancements to the parents’ quiet room and development of a siblings play area for parents to spend time with their other children whilst on the unit.

On top of this, Hull-based contractor Helix offered to refurbish the parents’ kitchen facility for free, and this now gives parents a more pleasant environment in which to take time out, hydrate, rest and recharge, away from the hustle and bustle of the main ward.

Francesca adds:

“On behalf of the whole team, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has made this achievement possible; the team from our PFI provider, Apleona; our contractors and domestic teams; infection control staff; the WISHH charity and local fundraisers; the local Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership; and not forgetting our own staff, who have coped with the building works really well and who did everything they could to ensure the care of families wasn’t adversely impacted. The team has worked through the improvement works with a smile on their faces, at times under real pressure, and I’m so proud of the outstanding facilities we have now in Hull, and that we’re able to deliver the care to match.”

Improving patient care, reducing emergency admissions, treating disease earlier and saving lives; the aims of a two-year liver health project taking place across the Humber region.

Funding of £500,000 over two years from NHS England and the Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance has been secured to pilot Liver Health Checks in a number of community locations across Hull, East Yorkshire, North and North East Lincolnshire.

Initially starting in Hull and East Yorkshire in April 2023, the project was extended after 12 months to encompass Scunthorpe, Grimsby and surrounding areas, and parts of Scarborough too. The region is one of just 18 sites across the country conducting the liver health checks project and this is based on high levels of deprivation and poor health outcomes from liver disease.

By working with healthcare and service providers, local authorities, local employers, community groups and taking scans out to those who might benefit most, the team is seeking to identify liver disease and begin treatment at a much earlier stage.

Faye and Beth with their fibroscan machine

Beth Featherstone, community liver nurse specialist explains:

“The Liver Health Check Pilot is about detecting liver disease early so it can be managed effectively and, in some cases, so we can seek to reverse any damage.

“People with early stage liver disease don’t always know there is a problem, so in many cases liver disease is only identified at the point it has become chronic sometimes when a person has been rushed to hospital. Patients with chronic liver disease also have a higher risk of developing liver cancer, so it’s vital we spot the disease early to give people a much broader range of treatment options and a better chance of managing the condition long-term.”

A team of specialists is now offering community-based fibroscans and lifestyle advice to people who are deemed at risk of liver disease to check their liver health and identify signs of damage. Typical risk factors include a fatty liver,

type 2 diabetes, a BMI of 30+, Hepatitis B or C, and alcohol consumption of more than 14 units per week.

Beth continues:

“We go to lots of different community settings to offer scans because we know that some of those who are most at risk, and whom we’re particularly trying to target, can find it difficult to engage in routine healthcare. We visit community alcohol and drug services, homeless hostels, GP surgeries, outreach clinics and diabetes clinics to try to break down any barriers and make it as easy as possible for people to have the checks.

“Not only is it better for the individual that we identify problems early, but it can also lessen the impact on the NHS by reducing avoidable hospital admissions or the long-term requirement for cancer care.”

The Community Liver Health Check Team, L-R Bethia Featherstone, Dr Lynsey Corless, Stephen Brocklesby, and Faye Coite.

The programme also benefits from a dedicated Community Liaison Officer (CLO) whose role it is to support vulnerable people in particular, by encouraging those who traditionally might find it difficult to attend routine healthcare or see healthcare professionals. Through dedicated one-to-one support, the CLO has helped to reduce the number of missed appointments by answering questions and concerns, reminding people about appointments and helping with travel.

Patients diagnosed with liver disease through the pilot are referred directly to the hospital’s liver team for ongoing monitoring for complications of liver disease, such as cancer.

Eighteen months into the project, despite the team numbering just four people; project lead and consultant hepatologist, Dr Lynsey Corless, community liver specialist nurse, Bethia Featherstone, community liaison officer, Faye Coite, and data manager, Stephen Brocklesby; they have been able to make a big impact. The Hull-based team has completed more than 3,000 fibroscans across East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, and around one in 20 people scanned have required further assessment or referral into liver services due to advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis.

Dr Lynsey Corless explains:

“Liver disease is often diagnosed at a relatively late stage, by which time it can have a much bigger impact on people’s quality of life and be harder to treat.

“We are delighted to be able to offer the Liver Health Check pilot in our area, not only to help identify liver problems sooner but also to raise awareness of liver disease, and how to reduce the risk of developing liver problems in the future.”

Beth continues:

“The level of liver disease we have identified so far is in line with other sites running the liver health check pilot, but scaled up, this does suggest that thousands of people across the country could be living with unknown liver disease, which is really worrying,”

“We know that drinking too much alcohol is one of the most common reasons for liver disease, but it’s not the only reason, so we have also worked with local employers to offer the fibroscans plus preventative, healthy living advice to try and stop problems before they start.”

As well as their ongoing work in the community, the team will also be hosting a Liver Health Check event in Scunthorpe on 31 January for local people to call in, have a liver health check and/or fibroscan and find out more about their risks and disease prevention.

For more information on liver disease, visit the NHS website.

A hospital in Hull is ushering in a clean and green way to transport patients.

The facilities team at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham has just taken delivery of its first ever, all-electric, non-emergency ambulance.

The new ambulance has space for three seated patients plus a stretcher

Representing investment of over £86,000, the ambulance will be used to transport patients needing tests and scans, as well as those requiring admission to or transfer between wards, around the 168-acre (683,000 m²) site – equivalent to 106 football pitches.

The first fully electric patient transport ambulance to be used at a hospital across North Yorkshire and the Humber, it is also believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

David Wilkinson, Transport Manager for NHS Humber Health Partnership, says:

“We already have a fleet of electric vehicles which transports goods and samples between Castle Hill and Hull Royal Infirmary, but this is the first time we’ve invested in an electric vehicle for the movement of patients.

Porter, Tony Downs, will be among those driving the all-electric ambulance

“The ambulance is fully equipped with a load area which can accommodate both beds and wheelchairs, and can carry one stretcher and three seated patients at a time.

“As a fully electric vehicle, it’s cheaper, greener, and more efficient. The vehicle doesn’t create exhaust fumes, we don’t have to travel to refuel, we can charge on site for a fraction of the cost of diesel, and the ambulance is less likely to be off the road for maintenance as there are fewer moving parts to go wrong.”

David May, Deputy Head of Facilities (Logistics) for NHS Humber Health Partnership says:

“The footprint of the Castle Hill site is very spread out. For someone who is fit and well, it can take a good 15 minutes to walk the full length of the site, so just imagine how time consuming it can be for a porter to move a patient between departments on a trolley or in a wheelchair.

Porter, Tony Downs, and portering supervisor, Leanne Wilson, inside the new ambulance

“The new ambulance will not only free up porters’ time for other tasks, but it will hugely improve the patient experience, meaning they can arrive quickly and on time for any appointments or tests, and we can maintain their dignity by avoiding having to cross parts of the hospital site outdoors in bad weather.

“We have been committed to reducing our impact on the environment for some time now, and this is the latest in a number of steps taken on the Castle Hill site. The ambulance is a great complement to our existing fleet of electric vehicles and will make a huge, positive difference for both our patients and our staff.”

The ambulance will be driven by a member of the portering team, and seating is also available for a nurse or other clinical chaperone should a patient need someone to accompany them on their journey.

Midwives in Hull are throwing open the hospital doors in support of the city’s first ever “Baby Week”.

The team at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will run a special ‘Baby Carousel’ to mark the start of the week-long event organised by the Hull Early Help Partnership.

Baby Carousel events are open to all new parents and parents-to-be, offering the opportunity to browse stands, gather information, and speak to professionals on a whole manner of different subjects including:

• Eating well during pregnancy
• Pre and post-natal exercise
• Home birth and hypno-birth
• Baby car seats
• Feeding and bathing
• Safer sleeping techniques
• Changing a nappy
• Baby massage
• Safety in the home
• Mental wellbeing
• Support to stop smoking

This special Baby Carousel will kick off the week’s celebrations on Wednesday 13 November, from 6:30 – 8:30pm at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital – no booking necessary.

Geraldine Hotham, Childbirth Educator Project Lead says: “The Baby Carousel is a valuable opportunity for new and expectant parents, family and loved ones, to access important information and connect with other families in a friendly environment.

“As well as being exciting, becoming a parent can also be a daunting prospect, so it’s important to be able to cut through some of the noise and receive advice straight from the experts. A happy, healthy, comfortable, and positive parent is the best thing for any child’s health and wellbeing.”

The Baby Carousel will take place at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital

Visitors to the event will also be invited to join in one of Hull’s fastest-recruiting family studies to date. The Born and Bred in (BaBi) Hull and East Yorkshire study looks at factors which influence child and family health, and has the potential to shape and improve family health for generations to come.

Participants will be in good company, as the local research midwives have already smashed their one-year recruitment target three times over after just eight months, with more than 1,400 people now signed up to take part. All people booked for pregnancy care at Hull Royal Infirmary will be eligible to join the study.

Sarah Collins, Lead Research Midwife for the BaBi Hull and East Yorkshire study says:

“We know life becomes a bit of a whirlwind for new parents, so the great thing about this study is that it’s not time consuming for people to help out, and that may be part of its appeal.

“BaBi Hull and East Yorkshire will look at the factors which may impact children’s health and then use this data to make service improvements or to highlight changes within our community which could give future generations the chance to grow up healthier and happier.

“There’s no need for us to ask questions, to weigh or measure the baby, or for parents to keep a diary; it’s as straight forward as giving us consent to access data for the purpose of our research. And if people later decide they don’t want to take part, that’s no problem either.”

Please come along and chat to any of the teams on the evening of Wednesday 13 November.

Participants sought for new SNAP-3 research study

Pregnant people looking to stop smoking are being invited to join a new study taking place across Hull and East Yorkshire.

SNAP-3 is open to those who are less than 25 weeks pregnant and who smoke more than five cigarettes a day.

The study will look at how nicotine replacement can be used in different ways to help expectant parents kick the habit.

Overseen by the University of Nottingham, SNAP-3 will be led locally by research midwives at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital. There is a national target of 1,430 participants, with Hull looking to recruit 15 of those by December 2025.

Sarah Collins, Lead Research Midwife for NHS Humber Health Partnership says:

“A lot of research has been conducted into the effectiveness of NRT, but there is less evidence of its success during pregnancy.

“The SNAP-3 study will provide participants with nicotine patches and different types of behavioural support in a bid to improve their chances of stopping smoking.

“We are hoping to speak with would-be participants at an early stage, either at booking or their dating scan, to invite anyone smoking more than five cigarettes a day, and who lives in Hull or East Yorkshire, to take part.”

The SNAP-3 study is intended to complement existing hospital-based stop smoking support delivered through the hospital’s in-house NHS Maternity Tobacco Dependency Team.

Signing up to the study involves a quick telephone conversation, including a number of non-judgmental questions about smoking habits, then there’s just a consent form to complete.

Each participant is then randomly allocated to one of two groups; either to receive the usual care provided by the hospital-based stop smoking team or the SNAP-3 study intervention, which involves using NRT in a slightly different way for a period of one to four weeks.

Sarah continues:

“Stopping smoking can be difficult and every smoker will have different factors and lifestyle issues that feed into their habit. Often, they recognise a lot of them but need some extra help to break those habits.

“The SNAP-3 study will allow us to try a slightly different way of supporting pregnant people who smoke to quit, and then compare its effectiveness with routine NRT support.

“Stopping smoking is the best possible thing a parent can do for their unborn child, so this study has the potential not only to improve the health of the pregnant parent, but also to increase the chances of a safe and healthy delivery and to enable baby to grow and develop to its full potential too.”

If you are under 25 weeks pregnant and would be interested in stopping smoking/learning more about the SNAP-3 study, complete the online form to check your eligibility.

A woman who has raised almost £175,000 for a hospital ward in memory of her daughter has visited Hull Royal Infirmary with her latest donation to help patients with brain tumours.

Ruth and Tony Knowles launched their fundraising campaign to support the Neurosurgical Department at Hull Royal Infirmary in 1998 after the death of their 22-year-old daughter Emma-Jayne.

The couple, of Sutton on Sea in Lincolnshire, were awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours List in 2014 and although Mr Knowles died last year, Mrs Knowles has continued their mission.

Mrs Knowles and her friends present their latest cheque to staff from Ward 40

Mrs Knowles visited Ward 40 at Hull Royal Infirmary, where Emma-Jayne was treated before her death, to hand over her latest cheque for £10,573, including donations made at Mr Knowles’s funeral on Tuesday. She also presented Mr Knowles’s British Empire Medal to the ward in recognition of the deep admiration and respect she holds for staff who’ve worked in Neurosciences at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Mr Chittoor Rajaraman and Mr Gerry O’Reilly, both Consultants in Neurosurgery, hosted a special celebration for Mrs Knowles and her friends along with Ward 4 and 40 Charge Nurse Paul Johnson and Ben Davison, Chief of Service for Neuroscience Specialist Care Group and other members of staff.

Mrs Knowles was also reunited with Caroline Paterson and Ronnie Milner, the nurses who looked after Emma-Jayne while she was on Ward 40.

Mrs Knowles told the Ward 40 team: “You are worth your weight in gold. There is no need to thank me. I do this because I love to do it.”

Sean Lyons, Chairman of Humber Health Partnership, said: “We are extremely grateful to Mrs Knowles for her unwavering support of our neurosurgical team. The money raised by Mr and Mrs Knowles has meant that, over these past 26 years since Emma-Jayne’s sad death, we have been able to purchase the latest technology to help us save patients’ lives and assist their recovery after surgery.”

Ruth Knowles presents her husband’s British Empire medal to Neurosurgeons Mr Chittoor Rajaraman and Mr Gerry O’Reilly

Emma-Jayne was admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary in April 1998 after an MRI scan confirmed she had a rare brain tumour affecting just one in 1.5m people. She underwent 35 radiotherapy sessions because the tumour was too deep in her brain for surgeons to operate but died in December 1998, six days before Christmas and two weeks before her 23rd birthday.

Her parents started fundraising at her funeral, raising £1,100. Since then, they have continued to make donations to the hospital through a variety of charitable events including a bikeathon, now an annual event, sponsored walks and running races.

Over the years, their donations have been used to purchase specialist equipment used by neurosurgeons to remove brain tumours, a reclining chair to assist patients during the initial stages of their rehabilitation and an iPad and applications for speech and language therapy. They’ve also funded an ophthalmoscope and otoscope, used to look in a patient’s eyes and ears following brain injury, a wheelchair and physiotherapy for patients to assist their recovery.

Emma Jayne Knowles, who died only days before her 23rd birthday