Sophie's Legacy

The News, Portsmouth

September 18, 2024, marks the third anniversary since Sophie Fairall's death. Charlotte, Sophie's mum, established Sophie's Legacy a few months after her death and since then, the charity has made incredible progress.

Transcript

00:00Okay, I'm Charlotte from Sophie's Legacy. I'm Sophie's mum and founder of the charity.

00:22We support families admitted to hospital with their children in 12 hospitals in the South.

00:27We ensure that parents have food, toiletries, clothes. We help financially for those that

00:33are struggling whilst in hospital. We provide toys for the play teams and we do so much

00:39more.

00:40So, tell me how you feel about how the charity is going and since you started it.

00:49Yeah, so it's got much bigger than we ever thought possible. We cover so many hospitals

00:57and we've been involved with NHS England to cover more hospitals around the country. So,

01:02we're ensuring that parents are being fed around the country, which is what Sophie wanted.

01:08We are working with the government to try and achieve the cancer work that we are wanting

01:12with my MP. But yeah, all of Sophie's wishes we are working on and it's just got so much

01:18more bigger than we ever thought possible.

01:21So, tell me a little bit more about those wishes and what Sophie wanted.

01:34Yeah, so she has five wishes. One is for parents to be fed in hospital and she wanted that

01:39for the whole country. We've been working on that. It's our second of our pilot projects

01:44we're working on at the moment, covering 15 hospitals in the country, up as far as

01:49Tyneside and the North East, West, everywhere around the country, right down as far as Exeter.

01:55We're ensuring that parents are fed in those hospitals and we're working with NHS to try

01:59and make this a mandatory thing for the whole country.

02:03Another one is improve food for children in hospital. So, we are working again with the

02:09NHS to try and improve that. The first cookbook for children has ever been produced and that's

02:14been published by NHS England and that's gone out to all hospitals. I'm going to NHS Chef

02:19of the Year in October and being one of the judges for the children's section, which is

02:24exciting. Yeah, lots on that.

02:26And then the other ones are around some of the cancer work. So, she wanted obviously

02:31to be easier for chemo and things like that, which obviously we've cramped into improved

02:36funding. So, we've had the taskforce, Children and Cancer Taskforce, that was set up beginning

02:43of this year. But sadly, it's currently on paused by the new government, but that's hopefully

02:48going to be, we're going to meet with the current health secretary shortly and hopefully

02:54move that forward.

02:55And then the other one is play specialists, seven days a week. And we've worked on a taskforce

03:00last year with NHS England, with Starlight Charity, with lots of other places around

03:06the country. And we come together and produce standards, guidelines, which will be produced

03:13and published by NHS England this year.

03:17Tell me what Sophie would make of all of this. How proud would she be?

03:21Yeah, I think she'll be super proud. We have an incredible team that achieved all this.

03:27It's not me. It's, I'm the one that can stand and, you know, raise the money and try and

03:34encourage people to support us. But I have an incredible team that literally make all

03:38this happen. And I know that she'd be proud of every single person that's involved in

03:43the charity for giving up their time to, you know, supporting us and to making ultimately

03:49the difference for families in hospital.

03:51So, I understand you've also got some other exciting news to share.

03:57Yes. So, I was nominated by somebody, I still don't know who, but for a Pride of Britain

04:02award. And I was shortlisted to the final four for the region. And I find out on Friday

04:11whether I am one of the finalists to go to the final in London.

04:16Fabulous.

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