NEW figures have revealed how money raised by the late Captain Sir Tom Moore was spent in Somerset's hospitals.

We all remember how Captain Tom raised £33 million by walking laps of his garden during the pandemic - but it hasn't been clear until now how that money was spent.

The funds raised from the feat were donated to a national NHS charity, called NHS Charities Together. The charity decided to distribute the funds evenly among all 241 NHS trusts in the country, each reportedly receiving £35,000 in the first wave of funding.

The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Musgrove Park Hospital and Yeovil Hospital, have now said how they spent the money, which included setting up and operating a staff support helpline.

Other initiatives backed by the cash included buying iPads for patients in isolation to contact their families, providing meals for staff at community and mental health hospitals, providing counselling for staff, and supporting young people with mental health problems.

The boss of the Somerset trust said the money was used to improve the wellbeing of patients and staff during the pandemic. In a statement he said: “We were so grateful for the overwhelming support and donations we were given by local people and organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Alongside the donations we received from right across our local community, our NHS trust charity applied for funds from the national charity, NHS Charities Together, of which Sir Captain Tom Moore became its best known fundraiser. We used this primarily to improve the wellbeing of both our patients and frontline colleagues during those challenging times.”

“We continue to raise funds for those extras that will benefit our patients and colleagues, that are not normally funded by the NHS, and people can find out more on our website.”

In total, Somerset NHS FT received £352,735 from NHS Charities Together, with Captain Tom's fundraising efforts believed to have contributed a substantial amount to the sum.