Yorkshire woman recieves Queen's Award for her work

TV journalist Christine Talbot and soap actor Rishi Nair officially opened the new office of an independent Yorkshire charity set up by an NHS worker to help young burns victims and their families.

And on the day of the official opening, Tracy Foster BEM - founder of My Burns Club - ammounced they had been awarded the prestigious Queens Award for Voluntary Service 2022 (QAVS) for its work.

Tracy, a play specialist who works on the regional children’s burns unit at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, said: "This is great news and a fantastic achievement for everyone involved in our club."

The charity is the only independent one in Yorkshire that was established to help children, young adults and their families face the challenges of suffering a burn injury and rehabilitate in a fun, supportive atmosphere. Tracy says this results in an overall improvement in care and treatment experience.

Tracy set up the club in response to the needs of burn-injured children who lacked appropriate psychological support throughout the extensive journey to recovery.`Childhood burns are painful, traumatic, devastating and often life changing for the child and their family. The cosmetic stigma of a burn can greatly affects a child’s confidence. Part of the social reintegration involves successfully returning to everyday events, a process which requires a multi-agency approach in collaboration with the child and family,' she explains.

Former ITV Calendar host christine described Tracy as a `one woman Yorkshire wonder': "It was a privilege to open her fabulous new office and to hear of the great work tracy and her team do. It was also great to meet burns survivors and hear how tracy's work - all done at evenings and weekends - has helped them come to terms with often disfiguring scars."

Rishi supported all Christine had to say: "Tracy's work is life saving. I am proud to knwo her and support the charity."