The Health Service Journal is very sure the great majority of those in the NHS leadership and health policy world has been shocked by the war in Ukraine.
Many have already generously donated to help the people of that country, but the journal hopes the offers below might tempt you to do so again. For those who haven’t donated, here is the perfect chance.
By the way, if you want to add to these offers, please get in touch via the email address immediately below.
This is how it works
Have a look at the offers below. If you would like to bid, please email me at alastair.mclellan@hsj.co.uk. I will acknowledge your bid and update the current ‘highest bid’.
If your bid is still the highest at 6 pm on Tuesday 29 March, I will get in contact to confirm your win. On proof of the appropriate contribution to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine humanitarian appeal, I will put you in contact with the relevant person/company.
TOTAL RAISED SO FAR: £15,560
…and yes, I’ve noticed there’s no Lot 5 – but I’m not changing the numbers now!
The offers
Lot 1 – Tea with Jeremy Hunt at the House of Commons
Take tea with England’s longest-serving health secretary, former foreign secretary and current chair of the HoC Health Select Committee, and then watch a Commons debate live.
Top bid: £800
Lot 2 – Supper for 4 people at 67 Pall Mall
Dine at 67 Pall Mall, the wine-themed social club in London, as the guests of Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers. Chris will provide a selection of wines from his own cellar, including white, red and sweet wines from France, Australia, South Africa and Italy.
Top bid: £2000
Lot 3 – Lunch with Lord Ara Darzi
Take lunch with Lord Darzi, Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at Imperial College London and world-renowned expert on global health policy and innovation. Followed by a tour of Imperial’s Institute of Global Health Innovation.
Top bid: £500
Lot 4 – Go running with Sir Jim Mackey, after being coached by Brendan Foster
Take to the beautiful Northumbrian hills with one of the NHS’s most influential figures. The run will start with a coaching session from the legendary long-distance runner Brendan Foster.
Top bid: £2000
Lot 6 – VIP ticket for the Great North Run #1
Take part in the iconic Great North Run this September. After the run, enjoy a meal with the VIPs who organise the event. Rare as hen’s teeth: bid early, bid high. Donated by Brendan Foster.
Top bid: £600
Lot 7 – VIP ticket for the Great North Run #2
Take part in the iconic Great North Run this September. After the run, enjoy a meal with the VIPs who organise the event. Rare as hen’s teeth: bid early, bid high. Donated by Brendan Foster.
Top bid: £250
Lot 8 – Lunch with Polly Toynbee at the Guardian offices
Visit the London offices of the Guardian and have lunch with the doyenne of social affairs columnists Polly Toynbee
Top bid: £400
Lot 9 – Inspiration for your leadership team from Mark Britnell #1
One of the foremost global experts on healthcare systems, Mark Britnell will spend an hour with your leadership discussing the challenges facing the sector in the next few decades. Includes five copies of both of Mark’s award-winning books In Search of the Perfect Health System and Human: Solving the Global Workforce Crisis in Healthcare
Top bid: £1000
Lot 10 – Inspiration for your leadership team from Mark Britnell #2
One of the foremost global experts on healthcare systems, Mark Britnell will spend an hour with your leadership discussing the challenges facing the sector in the next few decades. Includes five copies of both of Mark’s award-winning books In Search of the Perfect Health System and Human: Solving the Global Workforce Crisis in Healthcare
Top bid: £600
Lot 11 – Signed copy of ‘The Five Giants’
‘The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State’ is widely accepted as the finest book on the history of the NHS and the other seminal reforms launched after the Second World War. The book will be signed by the author, former Financial Times correspondent Nick Timmins.
Top bid: £250
Lot 12 – Signed copies of Never Again?, The World’s Biggest Quango? And The Most Expensive Breakfast in History
These three books tell the story of the Lansley reforms, the first five years of NHS England, and the new Labour reforms of the early noughties. All books will be signed by the author, former Financial Times correspondent Nick Timmins.
Top bid: £100
Lot 13 – Tea for two at Leeds Castle, Kent, with Niall Dickson
Former BBC Social Affairs editor Niall Dickson has done many things since hanging up the mic – including leading the King’s Fund, General Medical Council, and the NHS Confederation. Now he’s chair of beautiful Leeds Castle (and East Kent University Hospitals Trust)
Top bid: £150
Lot 14 – Your very own Phil Hammond gig (the comedian, not the former chancellor)
“One of the most entertainingly subversive people on the planet” (according to the Guardian) will come to your workplace (or other agreed venue) and perform for you and your colleagues.
Top bid: £1800
Lot 15 – Edit HSJ for a day
Take the reins of the title that creates the healthcare leadership agenda. Discuss storylines with correspondents and editors. Lead discussions on the key subjects of the day and determine how they will be covered. Write a leader column.
Top bid: £1300
Lot 16 – The inside story
Alastair McLellan has edited HSJ since April 2002. Join him for lunch/dinner to hear all the juicy/not published details of the biggest healthcare stories of the last two decades.
Top bid: £400
Lot 17 – Four VIP tickets to see Adam Kay
Four of the best seats in the house to see the ‘This is Going to Hurt’ author on his arena tour – and then have a drink backstage with Adam after the show.
Top bid: £800
Lot 18 – A private cookery class led by Helen Buckingham, Director of Strategy at the Nuffield Trust, and Twitter cook extraordinaire
Theme to be agreed with the top bidder. The class will be followed by a meal with wine, for up to 6 people. Provided in her home or yours, within a reasonable distance of Kent.
Top bid: £500