Skip to main content
coronavirus_nurse_mask

NHS Hero Support

Lifeline for the frontline

Why are we raising money?


There is an unprecendented demand for PPE today, globally. Supplying the frontline with adequate protection is a monumental challenge for the government and it is no surprise that sometimes there are gaps.

Hero Support believes that we all have a part to play in keeping our medical and care teams safe.

That's why we have designed a system from the ground up specifically to fill the gaps in PPE provision whenever supplies fail, helping to protect our frontline heroes. We have already sourced almost 200,000 pieces of protective wear.

We are here to help keep frontline workers safe when they lack protection, by combining our multiple professional areas of expertise, from procurement to medicine and dispatch to fundraising. Our 250-strong volunteer driver team and event dispatch force mean that delivery is free and fast, the length and breadth of Britain.

The only rate limiting factor to the help we can offer is how much PPE we can afford to buy.

That’s where you, and the NHS Hero Support fundraiser, come in.

We need you!


With your donations, NHS Hero Support is helping to get more of the right PPE to frontline workers, so that they can get on with their job safely. Within weeks of setting up, we have already delivered tens of thousands of PPE essentials direct to hospitals, hospices, care homes and GPs.

The challenge is huge, but thanks to your generous donations we are starting to fill some of the gaps.

We have access to large volumes of PPE. We just need to keep funds coming in so we can get it to where it is needed. Your generosity will make that happen. Our medical contacts tell us the equipment we’ve already delivered is making a real difference to them and their teams, as they face the worst health crisis they’ve ever had to deal with.

Please donate what you can today, and if you can’t donate in these challenging times, then please share our fundraiser with your friends and family.

getting the right equipment


We are working directly with doctors and other specialists to ensure we get the right equipment to the right places, and are building an amazing team of logistics and procurement specialists to source and ship this vital PPE fast and spend our funds wisely. And because we are all volunteers, you can be sure that every single pound donated is being used to get this PPE to the frontline.

For more details of shortages and the impact on doctors and nurses see: Not fit for purpose.


Our own Rishi Baungally delivering a batch of masks to University Hospital Lewisham.

What next?


Every day, we are fielding urgent requests from the frontline. Alongside our friends at Let's Beat Covid19, and with help from our 3D visor printer teams, we are proud to be working in partnership with the Doctors Association UK to deliver what people need fast.

Our innovative partnerships from textiles to engineering and our collaborative efforts within Shield also help us to provide versatile, joined-up and creative responses nationwide to whatever crisis is presented to us from the frontline.

Raising substantial funds means we can provide in bulk protective vital equipment that overstretched clinical teams are struggling to get. The task ahead is great, and the country is coming together as never before. Millions of us are volunteering, donating, and doing what we can in a truly national effort as we face this unprecedented health emergency – Hero Support is part of that national effort.

Please help us to deliver even more PPE to our heroes on the frontline. Every pound you donate protects a Frontline  Hero in their work.

Who are we?


The Hero Support team is a pop-up emergency PPE service.

We are a collaborative group of volunteers with backgrounds in healthcare, procurement, comms, business, tech, fundraising, medicine and politics who have purpose built a rapid-response team from the ground up so that we can be there whenever supplies fail. 


Dr Alisa Pearlstone

PhD in neuroscience. Fifteen-year career in science writing and medical education. CSO of healthcare communications business for ten years, working with doctors, hospitals and scientists around the world to support clinical practice improvement through educational initiatives. Has worked pro bono for a healthcare charity, runs environmental initiatives and helped to set up the London branch of an international homelessness charity, Miracle Messages.

Dr Kate Hammer

Cross-disciplinary PhD followed by a 20+ career as a semiotician (working with how meaning emerges and is transmitted in culture) and psychologically minded coach. Kate’s consulting experience ranges across architecture/engineering, biotech, chemical, FMCG, healthcare, information, public health, tech sectors. As an employee in a global NGO 1998-2000, Kate contributed to the AIDS pandemic response and the early days of Roll Back Malaria. For a dozen years, Kate volunteered in her parish and local school communities.

Liz Ferretti

A media and communications strategist, and writer – specialising in science communication, and education. She has helped to run, and advised on, a wide variety of national information and fundraising campaigns. Her skills are in communication, writing copy, remote team building, and public education. She has a degree in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford, and is an Arts Council award-winning writer.

Maggie Lin

SOAS University of London LLM Specialism in international trade law. Has worked in international law firms and international companies legal departments and owned a business in international travel and shopping business consulting area, especially between China and Europe.

Mike McEwan

Has had 30 years in Medtech mostly in commercial roles. I have been GM for ResMed UK, VP for ResMed Europe responsible for both mask and ventilator businesses and also Stryker Europe looking after their operating room instruments European business which included the PPE product group. I have broad global industry network, latterly working with medtech start ups and others as a consultant advising on tech transfer to commercialisation, organisation development teams and individual business coaching amongst a myriad of other projects. I have a wide network in the UK and globally. I coach hockey and play International masters hockey in my own time.

Rishi Baungally

Imperial College - Computer Science & Maths BSc , CASS Business School - Quantitative Finance MSc. Has worked and owned businesses in many sectors including IT, Investment Banking, Property Development, Health and Beauty & International Trade and Procurement. Vast array of skill set from varied work but connecting with people is what I have learnt is the most important skill in life.

Rob Miller

Digital communications expert with a background in healthcare technological solutions development. CEO of a medical education agency for ten years, developing global programmes for healthcare clients and delivering large scale clinical practice enhancement across diverse regions. Serial entrepreneur with a solid business management background. Passionate environmentalist.

Liz Fraser

MA in Mathematics from Cambridge University. Varied career working in research, analysis and project management across a number of companies in the private sector. She has utilised a wide variety of modelling techniques to help streamline the data analysis processes. Liz has become deeply engaged in community and political projects in the last few years and aspires to make a difference in the everyday life of people across the country.

Sue Ellar

MSc in Medical Radiation Physics, Diploma of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. 18-year career in IT Systems within Higher Education. Passionate activist, conducting nationwide digital campaigns utilising collaboration platforms and social media. Natural Voice Community Choir leader advocating group harmony singing for mental and physical wellbeing. Runs Woodland Voices community choir, the Cardiff University wellbeing choir and Sing For Water Cardiff.

Donate now!

Can I get PPE?


Medical professionals

If you are working on the frontline in a clinical or care capacity then you can fill out a request for masks and other PPE equipment. Please state the equipment that you would like, the quantities that you require, and we will do our best. Please note, we will only ship to verified frontline addresses.

Member of the public

Sorry, but we are only supplying masks and other PPE to the frontline at this time. If you are able, please do donate to ensure that we can get masks and other protective equipment to those working on the frontline.

Volunteer


We are always looking for more like-minded volunteers to join our ever-expanding team. If you have skills that you think might be useful in helping us to source and supply PPE to frontline medical staff, and have the time to spare, then please get in touch.

Volunteer drivers

We are always looking for drivers that would be willing to pick up and deliver boxes of PPE from locations around the UK straight to the frontline medical teams that need them so desperately. If you can help, then please fill out our volunteer driver registration form.