Published on: 19 December 2024
As Christmas approaches, the League of Friends at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have been busy preparing donations for patients using Derbyshire Healthcare’s services, including mental health, learning disabilities and children’s services. 
The Trust’s League of Friends is a charitable organisation, run by volunteers, who plan to deliver Christmas hampers to various wards.
Pauline Gregory, Chair of the Trust’s League of Friends helped to make these donations possible, and she said: “This year the League of Friends charity have donated Christmas hampers to all inpatients. The charity has donated Christmas gifts to patients for many years now to make their time with the hospital that little bit more special at what is a difficult time for them.
“The idea of gifting to patients came to mind as some patients who have no relatives would not receive any gifts at Christmas. The League decided that from then on, they would purchase a small gift for these patients each year before Christmas.”
The numbers of gifts have varied over the years, with this year’s donation including a purchase of 18 Christmas hampers being given to patients on wards at the Trust’s hospital units across Derby and Chesterfield.
Mark Powell, Chief Executive at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Once again the League of Friends have donated some fantastic Christmas goods that our patients can enjoy ahead of Christmas. We hope that these hampers help to spread some Christmas cheer across our wards and make their time with us that little bit more enjoyable.
“These donations have been a huge success in previous years, never failing to bring a smile to our patient’s faces and so the tradition continues.
“The charity has worked with us previously to help support the care we provide for our patients so a big thank you, as always, to them for their kind donations.”
