Community staff nurse Jodie Goldthorpe has scooped the £1,000 top monthly prize - and thought it was a joke.

Recalling the moment she received the phone call,  she said: "I was over the moon. I only joined two months ago. I'd never heard about it until I heard someone had won in A&E. We'll be putting it towards our yearly holiday in Spain. It was just good luck and I couldn't say thank you enough."

Jodie is our latest winner but read on to find out how you can be.  Learn about what happens to the money you pay in and how colleagues can apply for funds to improve their area for staff and patient wellbeing.

The staff lottery has one jackpot of £5,000 (usually in November in time for Christmas) and a top monthly prize of £1,000 plus other monthly monetary prizes.  It costs a minimum of £2 per month to join with the numbers drawn on the first Tuesday of each month.

Staff Lottery Committee member and finance secretary Judith Cruickshank told CHFT Weekly: "Just over 50% of the amount we collect is paid out in prizes with the remainder set aside to benefit the health and wellbeing of the staff and patients at our Trust - and the committee welcome applications for funding.

"Colleagues can request items which improve their work area, though they must be non-essential.  Recent successful bids include a PhysioTouch device for Beechwood Health Centre, a water boiler for Old Ward 3 at CRH, display boards for Radiology, a kettle for Child Health and hot water urns for St Johns Health Centre. Read more about how to bid or join the lottery on our intranet page" 

The committee is made up of colleagues across clinical and non-clinical areas within the Trust. They meet quarterly to discuss applications for funding. The Staff Lottery Committee is made up of: Laurie Beckett, Errol Brown, Judith Cruickshank, Carol Harrison, Lindsay Kirwan, Val Rigg, George Spencer, Sarah Talbot, Karen Turkington (Chair) and Adele Turton. 

New members are always welcome, so please contact Judith if you are interested in joining the Committee.