112 Christmas gifts donated to patients at Fulbourn hospital

For almost 20 years, Christmas presents have been donated annually by staff and councillors at South Cambridgeshire District Council to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundations Trust’s Fulbourn Hospital. This year, a total of 112 gifts have been donated which will be given to patients being treated on the mental health wards. £350 was also raised towards the purchase of gifts.

The Council’s Personal Assistant Team co-ordinated the appeal for donation of presents, as well as purchasing and wrapping the gifts ready for handover before Christmas. The gifts were presented by Cllr Peter Fane, Chair of South Cambridgeshire District Council, Elaine Field and Glenda Hansen from the Personal Assistant Team to Alex Gordon, fundraising manager for CPFT’s charity, Head to Toe.

Fulbourn Hospital – one of CPFT’s largest sites – houses a number of mental health inpatient wards delivering care to adults and older people with a wide-range of conditions.

Some patients will have limited visitors, and for those who need to spend Christmas in hospital, their time at one of the wards will be made a little easier knowing that someone has thought of them.

Cllr Peter Fane, Chair of South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "We're delighted to once again donate gifts to the mental health inpatient wards to hopefully send a little festive comfort to those that are spending the Christmas period in hospital. Thank you to our staff and councillors that continue to support this initiative every year, purchasing an extra gift when doing their own Christmas shopping, or by making a financial contribution towards buying presents.”

Siobhan O’ Kane, Service Manager for Springbank Ward, a recovery unit for women with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder at Fulbourn Hospital, said: “We are extremely thankful for the gifts. Our patients have often commented about how kind and comforting it is that people had gone to the effort to remember that they are in hospital over the Christmas period.

“Our patients stay with us for 12 months and engage in an intensive treatment programme during that time, to help them with their recovery and having a life worth living outside of hospital.

“Gestures like this remind our patients that despite the difficult moments they have experienced, there is someone out there who is thoughtful enough to recognise them.”

If you would like to find out more about Head to Toe which supports the patients and staff at CPFT, contact charity@cpft.nhs.uk

CPFT, which employs more than 4,500 staff, provides community physical health services for older people and adults with long term conditions, mental health services, children community services in Peterborough and learning disability services. The Trust is also renowned for its research and development work.