Hospital worker to swim Channel for charity

A healthcare worker will take part in a relay swim across the English Channel to support a charity that aims to prevent drowning deaths.

Ellie Bull, an advanced medical practitioner from Doncaster, will take on the 21-mile challenge as part of a team of six women to raise money for SwimTayka, an organisation that teaches children in low-income countries how to swim.

Ms Bull, an orthopaedics practitioner at Montagu Hospital, is also raising money for the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) Charity.

She said the other women on her team had been strangers but that their "love of swimming has brought us together and we are so excited for the journey ahead".

Ms Bull has previously taken part in the challenging Ironman World Championships and the Ice Swimming World Championships.

However, she said this was her first time swimming the Channel and she did not want to let down the charities or her team, who have named themselves the Riptide Racers.

To prepare for the challenge, she has been swimming in either a pool or open water four times a week.

Raising money for the NHS Trust was special, she said, and she hoped it could "improve patient outcomes and working conditions for colleagues".

She added the SwimTayka charity was also important to her because she felt "privileged in terms of being able to swim".

"I've come across so many people who can't swim, and actually adults as well," she said.

"It's great they're teaching kids in undeveloped places how to do it - it's a great charity to be involved in."

Suzy Brain England OBE, chair of the board at DBTH, said: "Ellie's determination and commitment, both in her clinical role and through this extraordinary fundraising challenge, are truly inspiring.

"On behalf of the board, we are incredibly proud of Ellie and wish her and the Riptide Racers every success as they take on the English Channel."

The team will be on standby to swim between 11 and 18 July, with the exact day being chosen based on the swimming conditions.

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