Blue lights and sirens will be visiting Saltwell Junior parkrun in Gateshead this weekend to celebrate the NHS turning 75
Husband and wife team, Ruth and Graham Tebbutt set up the event in September 2019 and have been running the Saltwell parkrun event ever since, with the support of many volunteers, including NHS employees, who come along to help, as well as their three children.
Event Director and keen runner, Graham was eager to mark the occasion as the NHS is at the heart of his day job. As managing director for North East Ambulance Service’s fleet of 170 ambulances at the Trust’s wholly owned subsidiary NEASUS, Graham is responsible for ensuring the Trust’s vehicles can respond to thousands of emergencies and transport thousands of patients to and from hospital across the region each year.
Joining the weekly team for the special event will be Deputy Chief Executive at North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), Karen O’Brien, Dr Lynn Wilson, Director for the Gateshead System with Gateshead Council and North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Deputy Director of People and Organisational Development, Amanda Venner.
Event Director, Ruth explains, “We still love it as much as we did when we first started. There is no better start to a Sunday morning! It’s such a lovely community, a beautiful park and seeing the kids running around and trying their best is always a highlight of the week. We are delighted to be celebrating 75 years of the NHS at junior parkrun as we have so many volunteers and parents who work for the NHS and we are so grateful to all of them!”
Karen O’Brien from NEAS added, “What a great way to celebrate NHS75 – supporting youngsters and families in our region, using one of the great open spaces we have in the local area, helping all of our mental wellbeing through outdoor activity, and coming together with partners across the health and social care system to recognise the amazing work our services and colleagues do every day for the people of the North East.”
Dr Lynn Wilson, Director for the Gateshead System with Gateshead Council and North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board said: "I'm really looking forward to being part of this historic parkrun as we mark 75 years of the NHS. There is so much we have to be proud of in the North East and North Cumbria and I am particularly proud of the strong ties we have with key partners across the health and social care system to ensure that our people are able to access good quality services that have a positive effect on them and the communities in which they live."
In total, 927 juniors have run Saltwell Junior Parkrun at 116 events, averaging 63 per week, with as many as 131 on the busiest day. They welcome juniors of all abilities age 4 to14 and are recognised regularly with milestone wristbands for those who complete 11, 21, 50, 100 and 250 junior parkruns to mark their achievement.
The event team volunteer several hours each week to sort out the volunteer roster, communications and social media during the week and to set up and manage the run each Sunday. Graham and Ruth’s three children take an important role too, whilst often running along with the others.
375 different volunteers have supported the run at Saltwell since it began, with 24 to 35 volunteers every week, which includes parents/guardians/grandparents of our juniors, Duke of Edinburgh volunteers, GoodGym volunteers, parkrunners and many more