Doctors conquer mountains for children's hospices
Premier Medical Group raises money for terminally ill children, taking on the Three Peaks Challenge.
30th July 2009 – Ludlow-based Premier Medical Group (PMG), the UK’s leading provider of medical opinion, raised £3000 through doctors and suppliers in the first of a series of fund-raising events in support of local charity Hope House Hospices.
Hope House run hospices in Oswestry, Shropshire and Ty Gobaith, in Conwy, North Wales, caring for more than 320 terminally ill children and their families. The service relies almost entirely upon donations and costs £3.5 million a year.
- The PMG team, Dr Harry Brunjes, Dr Ferguson, Jason Powell, Hugh Brunjes, Karl Brunjes
Dr Bob Goodall, Medical Director at PMG said
“We are very proud to be able to sponsor Hope House, our designated charity. Their hospices provide an invaluable service to our community, both locally and medically. At Premier Medical we believe every effort should be made to support such invaluable organisations.”
‘The Three Peaks Challenge’ is steadily becoming a well-known phrase amongst the more adventurous. The endurance challenge involves climbing the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours: Ben Nevis, (4,409 ft) Scafell Pike (3,209 ft) and Snowdon (3,560 ft).
- Treacherous conditions
A Premier Medical team was assembled from Chairman Dr. Harry Brunjes, CEO Jason Powell, Dr. Rod Ferguson, a maxio-facial specialist and Harry’s brother Karl, who had some acquired knowledge of the terrain from his time in the army. Donations came almost entirely from Premier Medical experts who perhaps more than most understand the issues relating to terminally ill children.
With all doubters against them, the team commenced at Ben Nevis at 4pm and finished at Snowdon in a proud 22hours and 46mins later.
Dr Rod Ferguson remarked:
“Conditions were treacherous at the top of Ben Nevis with a heavy covering of snow, thick fog and high winds. Being the first ascent of three, we weren’t too sure of what we had let ourselves in for!”
As a continuous event, the team then slept in a minibus as they travelled to the next base, starting the climb at Scafell Pike at 3am in the morning.
Jason Powell described:
“We arrived at the summit just as the sun was rising above the clouds to see the most beautiful vista of the Scarfell Massif range. Yes, there were a number of times during the event when you wonder why on earth you put yourself forward for it but the opportunity to experience some of the most beautiful views of the UK and raise money for a worthy cause keep you going.”
Jason Powell, CEO and Dr Rod Ferguson behind
The ascent of Snowdon followed on at around midday. The team climbed ‘the minors tracks’ and descended down the well known down the ‘pig route’ to a well-deserved rest at the bottom.
The next challenge is on September 13th, with two volunteers from the Ludlow office Anthony Lucas (Invoicing Team Leader) and Julie Millichamp (Reports Team Leader), who have agreed to abseil off a railway viaduct in Bridgnorth.
If you wish to contribute to any of the challenges, you can donate via justgiving websites:
Justgiving site for 3 Peaks challenge www.justgiving.com/jasonandharry
Justgiving site for Abseil: challenge www.justgiving.com/antandjulie
For more information on Hope House Hospices and what they do, visit www.hopehouse.org.uk
Chairman Dr Brunjes and CEO Jason Powell at the summit of Ben Nevis