Royal Edinburgh Hospital NHS key worker wins £10,000 kitchen makeover from Magnet

An NHS key worker at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital has won a kitchen makeover worth £10,000.

Yvonne Stewart, Pharmacy Procurement Officer at the hospital in Morningside, was chosen by kitchen retailer Magnet, from hundreds of entrants in their nationwide competition.

Magnet said it “wanted to thank our frontline workers and their families” by giving the winner of the competition a free kitchen makeover.

Yvonne, from Oxgangs, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I received the message that I was the winner of the key worker competition, I burst into tears immediately!

“All key workers - whether it be in the NHS, supermarkets, prison services or anywhere at all - have done an amazing job and it was such a wonderful feeling to know our hard work has been appreciated.”

“Myself and my family have had a tough time recently”

She entered into the competition by posting a photo of her current kitchen using the hashtag #MyMagnetMakeover, alongside the reason why she would love a kitchen makeover and a photo of herself in her frontline uniform.

Yvonne has been working selflessly throughout the global pandemic while battling breast cancer for the second time in her life.

Re-diagnosed in 2018, Yvonne has undergone 13 gruelling surgeries, but is finally feeling much healthier and stronger.

“Myself and my family have had a tough time recently, even before the added pressure of us being key workers during the Covid-19 outbreak,” Yvonne said, “but we’ve all been really strong and resilient and have carried on like normal despite our worries.

A family of key workers, the Stewarts have stepped up to help the community throughout the lockdown.

Yvonne’s husband, Paul, is now a CIT driver, having previously served 18 years in the armed forces, their 16-year-old daughter, Lucy, volunteered to work part time at their local Tesco throughout the pandemic.

“We love spending time together as a family, but our old, outdated kitchen wasn’t the most inviting of rooms and I can’t thank Magnet enough for helping out my family like they wouldn’t believe,” Yvonne said.

“We were blown away by the bravery and selflessness of key workers everywhere”

She is now working closely with Magnet’s Edinburgh branch to create a dream kitchen, opting for Magnet’s “Meteor” units in a stylish matt-finish Light Grey, as well as brand new appliances.

Chris Hawkins, Retail Marketing Manager at Magnet, said: “As the nation went into lockdown we were blown away by the bravery and selflessness of key workers everywhere still heading out to work every day to support their local communities.

“We would love to say thank you to all of them every single day, but gifting a bespoke kitchen is our way to make even just one person’s dream come true.

“There were so many deserving entries, and the team were particularly touched by Yvonne’s entry.

“We hope that the Stewart family love their new kitchen for many years to come and that we’ve made their family life a little bit easier during the difficult times that they’re facing.”

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