Nurse's marathon effort to raise money for colleagues who treated Westminster terror attack victims

Emily Ashworth, who works at the Major Trauma Centre at St Mary's Hospital, will run the Prague Marathon in May

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08:00, 15 APR 2017

Emily Ashworth, who works at St Mary's Hospital, wants to raise money for Imperial College Healthcare Charity after being inspired by the superhuman efforts of her team in the Major Trauma Centre

A senior trauma nurse who was part of the team that helped care for victims of the Westminster terror attacks is taking on a marathon challenge to support her heroic colleagues on the NHS front line.

Emily Ashworth hopes to raise hundreds of pounds for Imperial College Healthcare Charity after being inspired by the superhuman efforts of her team in the Major Trauma Centre (MTC) at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.

She will take on the 26.2-mile route of the Prague Marathon next month in a bid to generate vital cash for the charity – and support the MTC’s life-saving work responding to major emergencies.

Westminster attack

“I see how hard my colleagues work every day and how we have developed as a major trauma centre, and it’s great to be a part of that,” said Ms Ashworth, a senior research nurse and trauma pathway coordinator at the centre.

“On a day-to-day basis we see stabbings, shootings and find ourselves dealing with the victims of crime.

“We see lots of quite nasty things but it’s really rewarding to see patients get better under our care.”

Emily Ashworth and her team treated members of the public hurt in the London terror attack on March 22 (Image: Carl Court/Getty Images)

The 27-year-old is one of the first nurses to assess patients when they arrive at A&E before following their treatment right up to the point when they can go home.

Her role involves follow-up telephone calls and clinics to make sure patients are on the mend, as well as offering support to concerned family members.

Last month’s terror attacks on Westminster Bridge and outside the Houses of Parliament saw the MTC called into action as several victims suffered serious injuries.

Now Ms Ashworth, from Greenwich, wants to give something back to the team by raising money for the charity so that it can fund vital improvements at the centre.

Emily Ashworth, who helped treat victims of the London terror attack in March, is raising money for her heroic St Mary's Hospital colleagues (Image: UGC TMS)

She will travel to Prague to tackle the marathon on May 7, along with husband Luke who will be joining her on the start line.

And she hopes it will be third time lucky after her previous marathon ambitions were twice scuppered by injuries.

“So far training has gone really well and I’m hoping for a reasonable time,” said Ms Ashworth, who has worked at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust for the last five years.

“I run all year round but started training around Christmas time, upping the mileage to above the half-marathon distance.

“My main concern is that I suffered a small fracture in my ankle before a race last year and there is a cobbled street section in the Prague course. Injuries are always a risk with marathon training and you have to be careful.”

She has already collected £260 for the charity and is more than halfway towards her £500 target.

She added: “I’ve been running for seven years but never taken on a marathon. I wanted to do something more challenging to recognise the amazing work we do every day in the Major Trauma Centre.”

The Major Trauma Centre at St Mary’s cares for patients from all over the UK and abroad and is one of only four of its kind in London.

Its staff played a key role in saving lives during the Paddington rail disaster in 1999 and the 7/7 bombings in 2005.

To support Ms Ashworth visit her online fundraising page.