Around 1 in 6 men and 1 in 5 women will have a stroke in their life and it is the fourth single leading cause of death in the UK. In all likelihood, we all know someone who has been affected and this charity was chosen by Steve Willmore who has. In October 2018, Steve’s Dad suffered a massive stroke and was rushed into Sunderland Royal Hospital.

“From the moment he was rushed into hospital, Dad was cared for brilliantly. The staff were amazing. We were all so well looked after, and nothing was too much for them. One of the brilliant but simple ideas on the unit (which was one of the innovations that came from their own team) was their “All About Me” board. It gave us the opportunity to draw pictures, write messages and personal information which helped the staff provide more personalised care. They were able to use the information that we provided to interact / communicate with Dad as they were caring for him.

Sadly, my beloved Dad passed away on 14^th October 2018. My Mum, Brother, Sister and I will all be eternally grateful to the team at The Acute Stroke Unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital and this year, I am delighted that Fuel Recruitment have chosen The Acute Stroke Unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital as one of 3 charities that we will be sponsoring.

The unit were shortlisted last year for the Kate Granger Awards for Compassionate Care and they very much deserve this recognition. Our aim is to raise as much as possible for this unit to help facilitate ideas like the “All About Me” board that help not only the patients but also the families of the patients and your help in achieving our goal is greatly appreciated.