Coronavirus: Charity dad returns full-time to NHS front line

A paramedic who set up a cancer charity in memory of his son has been forced to put some of its activities on hold as he returns full-time to the front line.

Finnbar Cork, from Norfolk, died aged five in 2016 while suffering from a brain tumour, leading parents Tristan and Claire to launch Finnbar's Force.

While the charity is carrying on, Mr Cork said some plans would be delayed.

"I felt I needed to use my skills and experience, where I can best apply them is on the front line," he said.

Mr Cork, 37, said during the coronavirus crisis the charity - which supports local families of children with cancer - was focusing on handing out emergency grants, totalling about £10,000 so far, and running errands.

"We've had families come to us in real dire straits, where parents have lost their jobs overnight or been furloughed and things had already been hard for them," he said.

Mr Cork works at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital's casualty department and on ambulance shifts, but had recently gone part-time to dedicate more time to Finnbar's Force.

Given the number of deaths among healthcare workers, he said anxiety among staff was "palpable", with the uncertainty reminding him of his son's illness.

Mr Cork, who lives in Hethersett with wife Claire, a practice nurse who also works at a nursing home, and daughter Nell, seven, said the pandemic had given him a "dilemma".

"The reality is charities are going to get a small percentage of the money they usually do, and this could knock us back by a year or even more," he said.

"I want to improve things for families, but I have spent 20 years in my job and want to be part of the fight.

"Like a soldier, if a war happens, that's why you did your training."

The charity's plans to launch dedicated play and family slots for children waiting for chemotherapy, and to employ a specialist liaison worker between families and medics, have been delayed.

It has also had to cancel some fundraising events.

Mr Cork said he worried about the charity's long-term future, but that its low costs and savings meant he had every intention it was "still going to be there" for families in need.

He urged anyone with innovative fundraising ideas to get in touch and turn out at its events later this year.

"There are lots of important local charities - crucial for people with health problems, disabilities or in poverty - and for lots of people there aren't any other options," he said.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]