Friends of Richardson Hospital

Fundraising

The Friends of Richardson Hospital's aim is to provide amenities and services not normally available through the NHS.

The Friends of Richardson Hospital were formed in 1981 for the benefit of local their local community. The Friends work in partnership with Attend, Richardson Hospital and Durham Dales Primary Care Trust to support the health care needs of the local community. The Richardson Hospital is currently being re-developed to enable the Durham Dale PCT to continue to provide a wide range of health care services in Teesdale. The hospital provides many different services to the local community including rehabilitation, respite care, a day hospital for the elderly and elderly mentally ill, palliative and terminal care, and occupational therapy.

The Friends provide additional equipment, services and amenities for patients, staff and visitors to the hospital. These have included:

• State-of the art medical, diagnostic and screening equipment
• Physiotherapy equipment
• Treatment couches and special chairs for the day hospital and day hospice
• Special mattresses, seating, hoists and bathing equipment
• Day hospital outings, newspapers and Christmas gifts
• Teaching aids and health promotion tools.

Recent Friends purchases include:

• Massage chair, couch and aromatherapy oils for the day hospice
• Pressure-relieving mattresses
• Specially adapted bath and hoist
• Graseby Ivac pump for intravenous treatments ñ sparing patients from a trip to the acute hospital 16 miles away
• A 'training arm' so staff can learn to give intravenous injections and treatments without practising on themselves or the patients!

The Friends are fully involved in the building of the new Richardson Hospital, which will provide a modern, spacious environment for staff to provide the excellent care that patients have come to expect from the hospital.

All the current services will be re-provided, and over time, more will be added as the building has been designed for flexible use.

The Friends plan to raise more money, ensuring that patients and staff can have the best of everything over and above what the NHS can provide. All the members of the Friends of Richardson Hospital are volunteers and they pride themselves on raising all their funds with the help of the local community so the money can benefit the local community.

“Since the new Hospital was opened in November by the Duke of Kent, staff have been developing new services, such as a Neurological day hospice for patients with illnesses such as multiple sclerosis”, notes Iris Hillery, Chair of the Friends, “as well as continuing the first class care of patients we have come to expect. The hospital has been extending their services to reduce the need for trips to the Acute hospitals. The Friends have supported these services by buying equipment and software.”

Quotes

“The Friends of Richardson Hospital emerge with credit for their work over the years to improve conditions for patient; without Mr R T Richardson, there would not have been a community hospital south of the Wear or east of Darlington.” — Cllr John Watson, Mayor of Barnard Castle

“I should like to thank members of the Friends who have done so much to support the Hospital and provided much needed equipment and extras for the patients.” — Anne Beeton, Chair of Durham Dales PCT

“The patients love to see Father Christmas [vice-chair of the Friends] on Christmas Day—their faces really light up.” — Nurse at Richardson Hospital

“I really enjoyed today [Make a Difference Day October 2004]; we all had a good time and raised more money than I expected—people really supported us.” — Christine Bell, Treasurer

Contact details

Iris Hillery
info@forh.org.uk
01833 690860
FORH.org.uk