Carmel McCullough is a midwife who has worked at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for 35 years. Alongside her daughter Bridget (who was born at the Trust), she took on the Everest Base Camp challenge to raise funds for CW+ to enhance maternity bereavement care at the Trust.
In this video, Carmel – speaking before the climb – discusses what motivated her to take on the challenge, how CW+ has supported her fundraising, and the role Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has played in her life and career.
Please note that this video talks about parental bereavement.
Watch the video or read the transcript below.
Midwife Carmel McCullough describes what motivated her to climb to Everest Base Camp, how CW+ has supported her fundraising, and her career at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Carmel's story: transcript
I’m Carmel McCullough. I’m a midwife and I’ve taken on the Everest Base Camp challenge for CW+ and their maternity bereavement fund.
Motivations for fundraising
I’ve always been interested in bereavement care because I feel it’s an area of maternity that you can make a massive difference. Fortunately, the majority of our families go home and they have a live baby, so they have memories for the rest of their lives. Psychologically and emotionally, it’s very difficult for families who are grieving. Anything we do with them initially is all they’ve got. Sometimes it’s just the small things in the way in which you care for grieving families that can actually enable them to create memories. I’ve just always found it such a privilege to do.
Carmel and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
The team that I work with at Chelsea, they’re absolutely amazing. It’s fabulous to work with such people who are so dedicated, so proactive and so willing just to keep going and just make a difference for these families. I am still at Chelsea and Westminster after nearly 35 years and I’ve always really enjoyed working here. Even though it’s a big hospital, it’s a family. My daughter Bridget was born here and I received great care. Any medical care I’ve ever had I always come to Chelsea, even though I live a long, long way away. Bridget is helping fundraise as well.
What it’s like to fundraise with CW+
I’ve received immense support from CW+ since I decided to take the challenge and contacted them. CW+ have helped me with my JustGiving page, advertising, promoting me, giving me more confidence. If you’re thinking of doing any fundraising for CW+, I would encourage you to do it. There are so many things that you can do. You can jump out of a plane or climb to 6,000 metres, but you don’t have to. You can walk. You can do a bake sale. You can do abseiling. There is so much that they will support you to do.
A message for supporters
I would encourage everyone to to do something and to donate, if possible, to the Thirty at Thirty appeal. This is our local hospital and we are great but we want to be brilliant. With help, with support, we can be that hospital.
Fundraisers like Carmel play a vital role in helping CW+ to enhance patient care and wellbeing in our hospitals.
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