We’re excited about Holly Hutchins running the London Marathon for Rebuild in April. Holly has been training hard and her Strava records show she ran over 1,100km in 2024!
She recently launched her JustGiving page and we’d be very grateful if you could support her fundraising here to help her achieve her target of £2000.
We are fundraising hard at Rebuild this year, determined to bring new psychology support to patients and their families.
We are delighted that our Deputy Chair, Mr Graeme Groom, has been awarded a CMG in the New Year’s Honours List in recognition of his charitable services for IDEALS (International Disaster & Emergency Aid with Long-term Support) and as a Founder of Rebuild.
As well as his invaluable role helping limb reconstruction patients through Rebuild in the UK, Graeme has tirelessly given his free time and expertise to performing trauma surgery, limb reconstruction, and systematic training of doctors in conflict areas for the past 20 years. In Gaza alone, he has visited over 40 times in the last decade, providing much needed support to the hospitals. Speaking about his award, Graeme states that the award is very much a collective effort of ‘extraordinary volunteers’.
A team at King’s College London has developed a new online peer support platform in collaboration with people living with long-term physical health conditions. The peer support platform aims to allow people living with a variety of long-term physical health conditions to anonymously share knowledge and experiences, support one another, and manage their mental wellbeing.
King’s College London is interested in finding out what people think about the new intervention, such as what they like and dislike. They also want to compare the new peer support platform to the generic NHS Mental Health resources that are currently available online. Therefore, they are running a research trial where some people will have access to the new peer support platform for three months, and some people will be signposted to the NHS resources for three months. Participants will be asked to fill out questionnaires at the beginning, middle, and end of the research. Some participants will also be invited to do a one-to-one interview about their experiences and opinions of the intervention.
Want to get involved? Please click here.
You can watch Sarah’s address on:
A Citizens Advice Clinic within a Limb Reconstruction Service
(Opens in Vimeo)
Rebuild and Citizen’s Advice Southwark set up weekly clinic to support King’s limb reconstruction patients
From October 2019, patients of the limb reconstruction unit at King’s College Hospital (KCH) can access free, confidential, independent and impartial advice and support on all aspects of welfare benefits, employment issues, housing issues and mobility guidance from Citizen’s Advice Southwark https://www.citizensadvicesouthwark.org.uk. in a weekly face-to-face clinic based in the hospital. This initiative is funded by REBUILD, the charity which supports limb reconstruction patients at KCH on their journey to recovery and rehabilitation.
Patients undergoing limb reconstruction treatment often have complex needs, due to the lengthy treatment which can incur prolonged periods of reduced income, unemployment or limited mobility. Advice is available on:
Welfare benefit issues, encompassing problems relating to claiming, maintaining or disputing awards, such as Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance. These are all benefits which often relate to disabilities or ill-health, and so are especially relevant to patients undergoing lengthy limb reconstruction treatment.
Employment issues, where patients may face difficulties with contractual or statuary sick pay, or returning to work after a long period of sick leave and dealing with reasonable adjustments.
Housing issues, which may involve dealing with rent arrears, homelessness, disrepair and eviction.
Mobility issues, for those seeking advice on discounts and exemptions for travel on public transport and taxi services, and eligibility for a Blue Badge https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-can-i-get-one which may grant additional concessions, including disabled parking and exemption from road tax.
Advice is by appointment every Monday 9.30am – 12.30pm in Suite 3, in the Trauma and Orthopaedic Outpatients Department.
Please contact Debbie Bond (Senior Nurse, Limb Reconstruction Unit) for more information and appointment bookings:
Telephone – 020 3299 3186
Email – Debbie.bond@nhs.ne
COVID -19: PLEASE NOTE THAT FACE TO FACE APPOINTMENTS MAY BE SUSPENDED AT PRESENT.
Fiona Squire, a former limb reconstruction patient, talks with @Kings magazine about how the Mind & Body Programme.
My accident irreversibly changed my life. I had hit despair, with no sense of an improving future: no more nursing, dog-walking, or caring for my ill husband. The programme revealed the distress and depression I was carrying with me, and was far from managing. It changed the outcome of my recovery and restored my confidence. My life will never be as I had planned, but I can now see a future ahead, thanks to the care I have received.
Graeme Groom, Fiona’s consultant orthopaedic surgeon:
We believe physical and psychological are indivisible. A neglected mind plays havoc with the treatment of the body.
Find out more about Mind and Body by clicking here.
Keen supporter of King’s College Hospital, Gary Morgan ran his first ever Marathon this year and chose REBUILD as the charity to fundraise for.
My family have a long association with King’s, and we are so grateful for the marvellous care we have had over the years,” he said. “It was a real pleasure to be able to give something back, by supporting the patients of the limb reconstruction unit and REBUILD. It was a lifelong ambition to do the London Marathon, and I was delighted to be able to fundraise for such a good cause at the same time.”
Gary’s time was a very respectable 4 hours and 35 minutes.
Gary raised more than £4170 for us, with very generous donations from family and friends, his employer, building contractor Stanmore Ltd, and many of their vendors and customers.
Our appreciation goes to you all for your contributions. Thank you!
Come and meet other current and former limb reconstruction patients, as well as some of the Trustees, at the Rebuild stall at the Crystal Palace Festival on Saturday June 16th. We are located in the Village Green area, so very easy to find.
In addition to us, there’s a host of activities for families, including children’s events and the dog show, as well as a fantastic music line-up, topped by South London favourites, the Stereo MCs. And don’t forget the famous Crystal Palace dinosaurs! Some of them may drop in to the festival for fun…
We look forward to seeing you!