Nurses set to hit mountain milestone as part of stairs challenge
A NURSING team are on course to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest by Christmas time by taking the stairs every day.
To scale this famous mountain, senior clinical matrons Claire Ranson, Paul Caygill and Angela McCormick will have climbed up the 25metre tower block at the University Hospital of North Tees 354 times.
They are among a number of staff across the trust who have taken on the challenge.
The idea was first started back in the summer by consultant in emergency care Andy Simpson.
Andy, a keen walker himself, worked out the amount of times he would have to walk up the tower block at the University Hospital of North Tees to complete different famous climbs.
Employee engagement got on board and created a mountain wall chart for staff to complete.
Claire said: “When we saw the challenge advertised in August we all wanted to take part for a couple of reasons.
“I’ve always felt conscious about using the lifts and ensuring patients who need them most can always get access to them. The lifts are very busy and I wanted to do my bit to help ease the congestion.
“I also wanted to get fitter. We are moving around all day from one clinical area to another. This challenge gave me the motivation needed to always make sure I use the stairs rather than the lift.”
Paul added: “I wanted to get fitter and this challenge has certainly helped me feel better about myself. I’ve lost some weight and the pain I have had in my knee has gone due to the strengthening of my leg muscles.
“As Claire says, we have also saved the use of the lifts for those who need it more.
“We are all determined to hit our target by Christmas time – it’s a pretty close race so there’s a bit of healthy competition between us!”