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Rainbow Scheme provides 10,000 free and discounted holidays for NHS workers Credits: Social Media
By Martin Cooper

Rainbow Scheme provides 10,000 free and discounted holidays for NHS workers

By Martin Cooper

Hundreds of holiday-home owners are offering free and discounted holidays to NHS and social care workers. The Rainbow Scheme is the brainchild of Tim Parkes, who has had his life saved multiple times by the NHS.

Parkes is the founder of Simply Owners, which provides booking services for holiday accommodation such as cottages and villas. The scheme has already seen a number of owners offer free holidays to front-line workers.

Parkes said he had been overwhelmed by the response from his community of owners. Hundreds have provided more than 10,000 individual free and discounted stays. Offers have ranged from UK cottage breaks to two weeks in a villa near Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Rainbow Scheme stays

The Rainbow Scheme includes 80 weeks of free and discounted holidays in Florida. More than 3,000 holiday stays have also been added in Spain.

Meanwhile, 1,000 holidays have been added in France, including the wine regions of Bordeaux and ski chalets in the Alps.

Parkes said many more owners were interested in the Rainbow Scheme and would add holidays once travel restrictions were lifted.

Lifelong support

Aggressive chemotherapy 40 years ago for metastatic cancer has left Parkes requiring lifelong support from the NHS.

He said: I kept seeing front-line workers struggling and felt useless. I thought NHS staff would need a break when this is all over and maybe the owners of holiday rental properties on our site might be willing to offer them that break. I am humbled by some of the stories our owners have sent in response to this initiative.

For more information on available holidays, contact participating holiday-home owners via www.simplyowners.net