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BRISTOL DUO TAKE ON “BRITAIN’S BIGGEST BIKE RIDE” IN AID OF AIR AMBULANCE

Two Bristol healthcare professionals are cycling the length of the country to raise money for the Great Western Air Ambulance.

Sarah Beckingsale, a physiotherapist at Spire Bristol Hospital, and consultant orthopaedic surgeon Stephen Mitchell are aiming to complete the 910 miles from Land‘s End to John O‘Groats in just nine days.

The trip, which is being sponsored by the telephone and broadband company TalkTalk and Spire Hospital Bristol, begins on 25th August.

The pair aim to cycle 100 miles a day and be back home in good time to attend the Bristol Kite Festival on 5th September. They are also holding a fundraising raffle in aid of the hospital‘s chosen charity, at Bar Humbug in Whiteladies Road, on 12th August with raffle prizes being donated by local businesses.

“The Great Western Air Ambulance can literally be the difference between life and death for the seriously injured or critically ill,” says Sarah.

“It is one of the busiest in the country and is expected to fly 800 missions in 2010, but it is entirely funded by charity and costs around £1 million a year to keep in the air.”

If you would like to make a donation to the bike ride please visit www.justgiving.com/sarahandstevesbigride

ENDS            2nd August 2010

Photo caption: Stephen Mitchell and Sarah Beckingsale with (centre)
Dr. Kate Sharpe of Great Western Air Ambulance


Notes to the editor:

•    Spire Healthcare is the second largest private hospital provider in the UK with 37 hospitals (total of 1,935 beds) and over 6,000 UK consultants practicing from our premises.

•    Spire Healthcare treated almost 1.3 million patients in 2009, of which 87% rated the overall quality of care as ‘very good‘ or ‘excellent‘

•    Spire Healthcare hospitals invest heavily in systems and processes for infection prevention and control, resulting in exceptionally low rates of MRSA bacteraemia and C difficile infection. Our rates are lower than the rates seen across the NHS as a whole and out-perform the private sector average.

•    Sustained clinical performance improvements and standards led Spire to win the Best Healthcare Outcomes award at the Independent Healthcare Awards in 2008.  In 2009 Spire Healthcare won the Nursing Practice award at the Independent Healthcare Awards for developing and introducing a programme to enable hospitals to achieve hygiene excellence, as well as introducing surveillance following hip and knee replacement surgery

•    For more information, please visit: www.spirehealthcare.com

For more information or to arrange photographs, please contact Neil Fraser on 01275 390 553 or neil@sturgessvandamme.co.uk