Liz Bamber

A total of £152,000 in National Lottery funding has been awarded to local charity Headway Preston and Chorley to continue a voluntary support service for patients who have suffered a major trauma injury.

The money will be used to provide support on a daily basis, helping more than 2,000 patients per year for the next 3 years.

Last year, the charity ran a pilot project for patients who have suffered a major trauma injury to find out if their service could be beneficial to other patients going through life-changing injuries. The outcome was staggering, with all 257 patients who accessed the service rating it ‘very good’ and ‘excellent’.

Liz Bamber, Project Manager at Headway Preston and Chorley, has led the charity since it began after her eldest son sustained a severe traumatic brain injury through a road traffic collision. She realised from her own family’s experience that the community was struggling to provide support to local families when they needed it the most.

Liz said: “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to increase our service to patients and help them overcome practical problems after a major trauma injury including brain injury. This funding will make a huge difference and is vital because it helps families to deal with a sudden change to their lives. The service is available to patients and their families as soon as they need it, and most issues can be dealt with before they are discharged from hospital.”

Karen Partington, Chief Executive at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are thrilled that Headway Preston and Chorley has received funding to expand and continue what is a fantastic source of support. The lives of the patients and their loved ones using this service have often changed dramatically and rapidly, and this daily service means there will always be help, support and advice whenever they need it. We are extremely grateful to the team and all that they do for our community.”

Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, the Major Trauma Patient Support Service will now be developed further, providing help to patients at the bedside with welfare benefits claims, access to free legal information, support with housing and employment issues -all of which may arise as a consequence of a sudden life-changing injury.

The Parehk family from Penwortham have been raising money in memory of their much loved auntie Komal who sadly passed away in 2018. Komal was a happy bubbly person and she treated all her nephews as her own. They all just felt it was right for us to do this in her memory so set up a Virgin Money page and all took part in the preston 10K run 2019.

Family member Vijay Parekh said, “we wanted to raise money in her memory and chose Headway Preston and Chorley. My nephew Hiten wanted to do something as well for Fujibaa (this is what he called her) so he raised the £120 offline donations through his school by organising a charity football match and collecting donations this way. It is special thanks to Hiten for doing what he did”.