Northampton midwife pledges to cycle 200 miles in March to support Northamptonshire Health Charity

A Northampton midwife has pledged to cycle 200 miles in March to fundraise for Northamptonshire Health Charity's (NHC) 'Spring Into Fitness' campaign.

The campaign, which asks people to commit to a walking, running or cycling challenge throughout the month of March to 'reap the health benefits of being more active', will also be raising funds for projects to better equip or improve areas of Northamptonshire's NHS.

These can include renovating staff rooms, providing surprises for staff, and even a new family room in Northampton General Hospital (NGH).Sarah Coiffait, who works as a midwife and a shared decision-making facilitator at NGH, said she chose to join the 'Spring Into Fitness' campaign as a personal challenge and a way to 'give back' to a charity that has widely supported her hospital in the past.

She said: "I've decided to do this for two reasons. The first is that the Northampton Health Charity supports a lot of the councils with their projects, so for example, if the Council wanted to renovate a staff room, the charity often will help with the funds.

"So I wanted to give something back to the charity, specifically by fundraising for maternity wards.

"The second big reason is for me personally. Covid-19 has not been an easy few years and I feel that some of the normal stuff like staying fit and healthy has sort of gone by the wayside. This offered a good challenge to get back to where I was fitness-wise before the pandemic.

"It isn't Mount Everest, but it's still enough of a target.

"Hopefully the money I raise will go towards helping patients and staff in maternity. I will raise the funds so the Maternity Council can decide how that money gets used."

The event is free to enter and for extra motivation, as with Sarah, entrants can also raise funds for their favourite local NHS Trust - ward, department, hospital or appeal. Entrants will also receive one of the campaign's 'fun charity technical t-shirts' if they raise £75 or more.

Sarah has been joined in her efforts by Lois Brennan, the chair of the shared decision-making council, who has pledged to walk 10,000 steps a day in March in honour of the amount of steps NHS staff take every day.

Sarah said: "Everyone should think about taking part. I think for your own health, it's a good challenging start to the year and at the same time you can raise money for a great charity that supports hospitals across the county who really appreciate the support.

"Now that we are no longer clapping for the NHS every Thursday, I think this is a great way to show your appreciation for people who are so dedicated to their patients, both pre and post Covid-19.

"We're continually striving for improvements on a local and regional level to bring people the best care possible. Small gestures like this are a great way to show how much we value that dedication."

Anyone who is interested can read more about Sarah's fundraiser on the charity's website.