With Christmas on the horizon, the Friends of St. Margaret’s have made separate donations to each of the six wards in preparation for the festive season.
The six wards – three in the Mental Health Unit and three in the Epping Forest Unit – have each received £500. That amounted to £3,000 in total for the charity’s seasonal gift to St. Margaret’s Hospital on the Plain in Epping.
This year Emmanuel Olaniregun, the Ward Manager of Roding Ward in the EFU, thanked the Friends by saying: “The support we receive from the League of Friends is invaluable to our patients.
“Some are admitted with very few personal belongings and may have limited or no family support. This funding enables us to provide essential items such as clothing and toiletries, helping patients to feel more comfortable during their stay.
“Although the Christmas donation helps us to bring festive cheer to the ward, its benefits extend throughout the year. We can support meaningful activities, provide small treats and celebrate special occasions such as birthdays – particularly for patients who have no family or friends to celebrate with them.
“These small gestures make a significant difference to emotional wellbeing, sense of belonging and experience of care.
“We are so grateful to the League of Friends for their generosity. Their support helps us to go beyond essential clinical care, and to provide the personal touches that make our patients feel valued, respected and remembered.”
Over the many years the Friends have made this large Christmas donation, we have never received such a thoughtful and detailed message of thanks. It gives us a moving picture of how welcome this annual gift from the Friends is to St. Margaret’s patients.
