Ickle Pickles charity raises over £70,000 for London neonatal units

Since 2009, the Ickle Pickles children’s charity has been raising money for intensive care equipment that treats sick and premature babies.

At its annual Incubator Ball, co-founder and trustees Andrew Marsh and Ben Harvey and the team raised more than £70,000 for intensive care equipment for neonatal units at Croydon University Hospital, University Hospital Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The event was sponsored by pensions insurance company Rothesay and the charity hosted neonatal staff from the London Transport Service and other London hospitals.

The funds raised meant Ickle Pickles was able to provide equipment including phototherapy lights to the neonatal units and respond to an urgent request by the London Neonatal Transport Service (NTS) for four new transport incubators to transport around 1,600 premature or sick babies each year. London NTS provide lifesaving treatment and transport to critically unwell babies.

Speaking of the Ickle Pickles charity, Neonatal Consultant Dr Nandiran Ratnavel, who is Director of the London NTS, said: “We are so grateful to the charity and those who pledged their money to help these infants. On behalf of the babies, their parents and our service – thank you.”

Julia Croft, Head of Nursing and Clinical Lead at Lewisham and Greenwich Hospital Trust, added: “The units I manage have significant social deprivation and being local district hospitals, we do not have the funding or the fundraising teams that larger hospitals have. The help and support from Rachael, Julie and the Ickle Pickles Charity has enabled us to support babies and parents with equipment that we would not have been able to purchase.”

For more information: icklepickles.org and https://london-nts.nhs.uk