The Friends are renewing fundraising efforts now after the very successful Spring event which raised over £2,400. They know that more requests will come before long from wards and departments on the St. Margaret’s site – for large and small items, which the NHS budget can’t supply.
A large donation was recently made to the organisers of a new project, led by a team of occupational and physiotherapists. This was prompted by the publication of a global movement called GET UP, GET DRESSED, GET MOVING. This innovation is specially relevant to this St. Margaret’s team; they work to restore patient mobility and social interaction, helping patients to recover positively and be well enough to return home successfully.
An essential space in a ward is a welcoming day room, a place which will motivate recovering patients to leave their beds in the wards and GET UP AND GO TO!
Up to now there has been no room on the ward which met the therapists’ plans. But there could be, if enough cash was raised to equip and enhance existing spaces.
They asked the Friends for fundraising support, so that patients could have comfortable seating, attractive furnishings and pictures on the walls, books to read and games to play together, TV to entertain and generate conversation and attractive plants to enhance the environment.
The framed pictures planned to be decorating walls of the day room will be a selection chosen by Friends from designs created by students from Harlow College, specifically for the project.
To help meet costs, the team of therapists are themselves organising events rolled out over the next few months , which the Friends will support. The first one, a Bingo Night, was held in April and was very successful, raising an amazing £2,500! One of the team reported the evening was “absolutely brilliant and everyone had so much fun!” She also said that patients would be consulted how this money should be spent to improve the room’s use and patient engagement/experience.
The team’s efforts will help towards the total cost of the project, which is primarily funded by the Friends. This will include many of the items listed above.
More fun events devised by the hospital team will follow over the year.
