A RALLYING call has been issued to Wyre Forest residents to attend Kidderminster Hospital’s League of Friends annual meeting to discover more about the charity’s work and to consider volunteering for it.
The get-together is being held on Thursday, November 13, at Kidderminster Hospital and will provide an insight into the charity which has raised an incredible £6million for the hospital since 1959.
Residents will hear how the Friends invested £155,000 for the year to September 2024 on equipment including £42,000 for cooling caps to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy at the Millbrook Suite and £27,000 for an ultrasound scanner for anaesthetists in the operating theatre.
Another £7,500 was used to purchase a virtual reality headset which calms patients, particularly children, suffering from needle phobia or anxiety about their treatment by ‘immersing’ them in environments including a beach, a forest or even travelling to overseas destinations.
The charity has increased its activities this year and provided £305,000, including £125,000 on a laser for the urology department and £79,000 on equipment to improve the experience of children undergoing MRI scans.
The Kidderminster Hospital’s League of Friends chairman Mike Shellie said: “We have a fantastic group of volunteers who do a great job to enable us to support our local hospital.
“But in common with so many charities we need new volunteers to come forward and we are hoping some potential recruits will attend the meeting to learn how they can help.”
Most of the charity’s funds come from its popular coffee shop at the hospital, with other funds coming from legacies and donations, as the Friends support patients and staff with vital equipment to help maintain and extend health services in Kidderminster.
The meeting is being held in the Co-Lab department (ground floor) at Kidderminster Hospital, Bewdley Road, at 1.30pm on Thursday, November 13.
Admission is free.
