10th anniversary of St Thomas’ abseil sees hundreds descend building for charity

Patients, staff and supporters are taking the plunge and abseiling down St Thomas’ Hospital in aid of charity today and tomorrow, with this year marking the 10^th anniversary of the event.

Kicking off today (Friday 19 September) the annual abseil raises funds for 3 of the charities who support Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust to deliver care for patients above and beyond what the NHS can provide.

Over the past decade the St Thomas’ abseil has seen almost 3,000 people drop 160 feet down the hospital building and raise over £1.5m for patients and staff across the 3 supporting charities: Guy’s Cancer Charity, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity and the Evelina London Children’s Charity.

Angad and his wife Kiren abseiled down St Thomas’ Hospital to raise funds for Evelina London Children’s Charity. Their son, Dhian, was born prematurely after a complicated pregnancy at St Thomas’. After time in the neonatal intensive care and special care baby units, he came home – only to be rushed back to Evelina London’s children’s intensive care unit with severe sepsis. Thanks to the expertise and compassion of teams across St Thomas’ and Evelina London, Dhian is now thriving as he turns one.

Returning for the abseil, Angad and Kiren went past the very windows of the intensive care and specialist care baby units where they spent so many long days and nights.

Angad said: “Coming back to abseil past the units where Dhian fought so hard is emotional and uplifting. The skill and kindness of the teams at St Thomas’ and Evelina London gave our son his start and gave us hope. Today’s abseil is our way of celebrating his first birthday and supporting Evelina London Children’s Charity, which helps make an incredibly difficult time a little more bearable for families.”

Kiren said:

Last year we spent countless hours at those windows, looking out at Big Ben and Parliament; today we’re back at the very same place - but this time with our son healthy and thriving. That feels like a miracle. Evelina London Children’s Charity does amazing work for families at their most vulnerable, and we want to give something back.

Another parent abseiling for the first time this year is Aman, whose daughter was born with serious heart problems at the start of the pandemic. Due to social distancing restrictions at the time, Aman was struggling to find the right care for her daughter until she was referred to Evelina London Children’s Hospital. She is now taking part to show thanks and give back to the staff who supported her.

Aman said: “I had been looking for a way to show my appreciation for the care my daughter received at Evelina London when a friend told me about the abseil. I’ve never done something like this before and am more than a little scared, but if it wasn’t for the incredible staff at Evelina London and the wider Trust my daughter wouldn’t be here with me today, so anything I can do to say thank you is more than worth it.”

Director of Fundraising for Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, Rachel Kiggell, said: “It’s incredible to see so many people getting involved to raise money for each of our incredible charities. The stories of patients and families are a testament to how much the Trust and its staff touch people’s lives, and the donations we collect will make a huge difference to their work.

It’s a credit to our fundraisers and everyone who has abseiled over the past decade that we continue to raise so much money to help provide the best care possible for patients and their families.

Participants can choose which of the 3 charities they wish to raise money for:  Guy’s Cancer Charity, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, and Evelina London Children’s Charity. This year’s abseil is aiming to raise £185,000 to help Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust continue to provide the highest level of care for patients, as well as supporting our staff.

To find out more about the abseil and the wider charities, visit the abseil webpage.