Royal Voluntary Service presents Leicester hospitals charity with £285,000 gift

Royal Voluntary Service presented University Hospitals of Leicester NHS with £285,000 - at a ceremony at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Wednesday 7 March.

The money is an accumulation of the profits taken from the six Royal Voluntary Service cafés and shops at the Leicester Royal and Leicester General Hospitals.

The services at the hospital give customers much more than a place to buy refreshments and gifts; volunteers provide a friendly face and empathetic ear for patients, staff and those visiting loved ones at the hospital.

The funds gifted to the Leicester Hospitals Charity will help the Trust with the second phase of their Emergency Floor which is due to open in May. The support will help staff create an environment focused on frailty and dementia. The assessment units in Phase 2 will include a dementia social space, a “memory lane”, a frailty friendly floor (the same used in Phase 1) as well as cinema style seating and enhanced bedheads.

"We are delighted to present such a large amount of money to Leicester Hospitals Charity. The money was raised through the hard work and efforts of our dedicated volunteers who help Royal Voluntary Service in its work to support the NHS as well as older people in their homes and in the community. The volunteers hugely enjoy their work and it is very much appreciated by everyone who uses the services."

Catherine Johnstone CBE, OBE

"We remain forever grateful for the continued support that we receive from the Royal Voluntary Service. This substantial donation will help us create a space within the second phase of our Emergency Floor that will support our frail older patients. We know that for this group of patients coming to hospital can be quite traumatic and so it is important that we create an environment that will be less disorientating for them. This donation will help us achieve that."

Karamjit Singh CBE, Chairman, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

Royal Voluntary Service is one of Britain’s largest volunteering charities with over 25,000 volunteers supporting thousands of older people each month in hospitals and the community. The focus is on building confidence, improving well-being and keeping loneliness at bay through an array of social activities and more structured support. Working across hundreds of hospitals in the community, the charity is one of the largest retailers in the NHS, with its network of cafés, shops and trolley services providing much valued services in hospitals.

Image: Royal Voluntary Service CEO with volunteers Betty and Mary.

For further information