Openreach volunteers ward off rubbish at Birmingham hospital
Around a dozen Openreach volunteers gave up their time to litter pick and help tidy up the grounds of Moseley Hall Hospital in Birmingham recently.
More than 20 bags of rubbish were collected by the volunteers – who were from Openreach’s commercial team based at Snowhill – including lots of bottles and cans, wrappers, plastics and even the head of a pickaxe!
Openreach employees can volunteer locally for three days each year, and the team – led by Nick Craxton – chose to spend their time litter-picking in the hospital grounds.
Other recent Openreach volunteering across the Midlands includes tree planting, the restoration of a community garden, footpath clearance and a sponsored hike.
Nick, who’s a risk and governance senior manager for Openreach, said: “I came up with the idea that we should do something for the local community. We can all take volunteering days throughout the year, and everyone was keen to spend it somewhere worthwhile.
“I got in touch with Birmingham Community Healthcare (BCHC) NHS Foundation Trust Charity and asked what we could get involved with. They do a great job supporting health services across the Midlands and pointed us in the direction of their green space volunteering scheme. The charity looks to improve the experience of patients by providing services that are not able to be funded by the NHS.
“All the Openreach volunteers are based at the Snowhill office, and some pass the hospital on their way in to work. A few of the team even had a personal link to Moseley Hall Hospital, so they were understandably keen to get involved.
“We were lucky with the weather, and it felt great to be helping such a worthwhile local cause. Because we were a relatively young and fit group of volunteers, we made a real effort to reach the parts of the grounds that were more difficult to access.
“It’s something we’ll definitely be doing again.”
Moseley Hall is a community hospital in South Birmingham that offers general medical care alongside specialist stroke and brain rehabilitation.
It’s a Grade II listed building, built around 1795 and was the house of Richard Cadbury MP, of the chocolate making family. In 1890, he gave it to the city as a children's home and the hall itself is now part of Moseley Hall Hospital.
Vanisha Mistry from BCHC Charity, said: "BCHC NHS Foundation Trust are a leading NHS provider of community and specialist services across Birmingham and the West Midlands, and as the official charity for BCHC we do everything we can to improve patient experience by raising and receiving funds for ‘extras’, beyond the normal NHS services.
"We were grateful to have a team from Openreach come and help with litter picking in the grounds of Moseley Hall. With only a small Estates team managing outdoor spaces at over 30 sites, volunteering like this makes a huge difference to us to our patients, staff and visitors .
"Litter is sadly an everyday occurrence in a city centre location like ours, so to have some help with getting on top of it and keeping our grounds and the areas around the hospital clean and tidy is most welcome.”
Openreach’s work in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands is not just limited to volunteering. The company is also making full fibre broadband available to hundreds of communities.
Full fibre is the UK’s most reliable broadband technology, so those who upgrade will see a lot less buffering and slowdown at busy times.
People can check if Openreach has reached their area using the online fibre checker.
Around 3,500 of the company’s engineers work in the West Midlands.
