Dig deep for charity on Saturday

Up to 100 medical students will be hitting the streets on Saturday to raise money to support a dedicated children’s emergency department at CUH.

UCC’s Medical Society is organising a city-wide street collection on 9 April to get the €750,000 facility up and running.

The new children’s ED aims to remove as much stress as possible and aims to deliver a safer and calmer child-friendly environment.

UCC Medical Society’s charity officer, Gabrielle Hogan, said the fundraiser strengthens the bond between students and CUH: “It is a street collection involving around 100 medical student volunteers, most of them first and second years, who will be placed all around the city.

“There will be musical performances too as we are collaborating with the UCC Trad Society,” said the third-year student.

Funds raised will be evenly split between the CUH Charity Children’s ED appeal and BUMBLEance, the national ambulance service for children.

The new ED will provide a dedicated waiting area, baby changing room, family room, two triage rooms, a procedure room, resus space, six treatment cubicles - including a specialised sensory cubicle and CAMHS cubicle - and access to an enclosed courtyard.

It will also free up space within the main emergency department.

“We are delighted to be working with UCC Medical Society again in 2022. As CUH is the largest university teaching hospital in Ireland, we have a long-standing relationship with the college and their societies,” said Claire Concannon of CUH Charity.

If you can’t physically donate on the day, you can support the appeal at idonate.ie/MedDay.