NURSES at a Glasgow hospital walked as far as the Falklands Islands to raise money for a vital hospice service.

NHS staff at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary walked at least 540,000 steps - the equivalent of walking from Scotland to the South American islands - and raised £5,188 for the city's Marie Curie Hospice.

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Not content with looking after patients at the hospital's Acute Assessment Unit throughout the pandemic, 54 members of staff took on the Marie Curie Step into Spring Challenge, requiring them to walk at least 10,000 steps every day. 

Tracy Biggar, a healthcare support worker at the unit, said: "We’re on our feet all day during a shift and I’m not going to lie, getting to 10,000 steps after coming off a nightshift, knowing you had to get up and walk to hit the target was never easy."

She added: "It’s been a hard winter we have felt the effects of the lockdown and not seeing our family and friends.

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"We thought that this could also raise morale within the team and give us a little spring in our step each day too.”

The cash will allow the Stobhill-based facility to continue to support people in their last days and their families, said Irene Johnstone, the head of the charity's operations in Scotland.