CT Furniture Blyth has been supplying furniture packs to help create a welcoming home for the families of doctors and nurses who are arriving in the UK to work in the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

It is the role of the International Recruitment and Relocation team within the Foundation Trust to support the practical and pastoral needs of medical and nursing staff and their families travelling to the UK to work in hospitals and community teams across the North East and Cumbria. As well as making sure the transition to a new country goes as smoothly as possible, they secure and furnish empty properties making them into a fully functioning welcoming home.  

How have CT Furniture helped the NHS?

CT Furniture Blyth have been working with the Senior Nurses to ensure everyone arrives to a comfortable home.  In the last 6 month despite being in a global pandemic, CT Furniture have helped furnish over 35 houses.

Senior nurse said: “I have a fabulous job and it’s a massive privilege to be able to reduce the anxieties and fears of the medical and nursing staff travelling to our Country.  No two days are the same. Using CT Furniture helps me to make a home-from-home for the families arriving from overseas.”

She continued: “The staff and volunteers at the charity based in Blyth, whether that be the guys on the phone or the delivery team, go above and beyond and are a really big help.  They supply furniture to fit any house and go out of their way to ensure all requirements are met.  Furniture packs contain new and pre-loved furniture, as well as smaller items like lamps, ornaments and wall hangings.”      

The two senior nurses who work for Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust have over 65 years’ experience as nurses, but for the last several years have been working in international recruitment and helping with the relocation support of doctors and nurses coming from overseas.   They cover the whole of the North East of England and Cumbria.

Senior Nurse Anne-Marie Lamb of the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust and the team at CT Furniture Blyth getting ready to deliver furniture for another of the NHS properties.

What do the team at CT Furniture supply? 

CT Furniture, which is part of Community Transport, aims to provide people in need with access to affordable furniture. They use donated furniture, anything from small electrical appliances through to beds, sofas and wardrobes. These items are either reused in the local community or are resold through their network of high street stores or via the online shop. All with the aim of encouraging furniture re-use and reducing the number of items going to landfill. 

How does the charity Community Transport use the funds raised?

All surplus funds raised through the sale of furniture are used by the charity to help support its fleet of CT Passenger accessible minibuses, who transport people with mobility issues or take those isolated for their shopping. In 2020, North East based fleet completed almost 2,000 passenger trips, covering over 12,000 miles.  

Where in the North of England do CT Furniture have their stores?

The charity has retail furniture stores in the North of England, across Newcastle, in Blyth, Peterlee and a new store about to open in Gateshead. As well as branches in the West Midlands, in Birmingham, Bilston and West Bromwich.  

All the CT Furniture staff and collections teams continue to adhere to the government's latest COVID secure guidelines. 

For learn more about the charity or to donate furniture, visit: www.communitytransport.org.

Kevin McHugh, Jason Barnes, Terry Campbell and Shaun Davison - the team at CT Furniture Blyth getting ready to load a van and deliver furniture to one of the NHS properties.

Find out more about CT Furniture:

CT Furniture, which is part of Community Transport, provides people in need with affordable furniture. All surplus funds raised is used by the charity to help and support more people, whether that is providing services on their fleet of CT Passenger minibuses, helping those isolated in the community by taking them for their shopping or enabling community groups to meet up.

See where our stores are based visit: CT Furniture.

Thinking about donating to CT Furniture visit: donate furniture 

Interested in hearing more from Community Transport, check out our blogs.