Sir Tom Hunter donates £100k for NHS ‘troops’
RETAIL entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter donated £100,000 to the new Mail Force charity yesterday.
The philanthropist said he wanted to show his support to the NHS and care home sector after hearing first-hand accounts of conditions.
The 58-year-old businessman made the donation after discovering that NHS staff were being forced to wash and reuse their personal protective equipment, which can render it ineffective.
‘This is like putting troops into battle without the right equipment,’ he said yesterday. ‘It’s just unthinkable. And when I saw what Mail Force was doing, I realised you had a platform to make things happen.’ Sir Tom said he was moved to help by conversations he had with his nephew, who is a heart surgeon at St Bart’s Hospital in London.
He said: ‘I was about to tuck into a steak and a nice bottle of wine and he sent me a picture of him in his scrubs as he was about to do heart surgery.
‘He had been talking to me about PPE and said it’s difficult here. Heart patients come in with a heart attack and you don’t have time to test them for Covid-19, so the surgeons have got to do all surgery in full PPE, which is exhausting.’
Sir Tom, who was knighted in 2005 for services to philanthropy and for entrepreneurship in Scotland, said he was delighted that Mail Force has been working with the Department of Health to seek fresh supplies of PPE.
‘I think the whole country is really beginning to understand who is important and what is important,’ he said. ‘People who are perhaps invisible to others, like the cleaners, they are keeping the country going. They are absolutely vital. I hope that carries on beyond this terrible war we are fighting’.
Sir Tom, who is married to Marion and has three adult children, set up the Hunter Foundation in 1998, which has raised more than £80million for charity.
He also set up the Kiltwalk fundraising platform which holds events across Scotland that charities can take part in.
Those taking part can raise funds for any charity of their choice. All funds raised are topped up by 50 per cent from the Hunter Foundation.
This year, no one has been able to take part in organised walks, but the Kiltwalk fundraising is still taking place. And this time, Sir Tom is matching every penny, so that double the amount is raised for the respective charities.
So far this year, Kiltwalk has raised £750,000, which has been matched.
‘This terrible war we are fighting’