Hospital friends donate £5,000 for digital TV switch
Reporter: MARINA BERRY
Date published: 28 October 2009
Joan Tomlinson, League of Friends’ chairman is pictured presenting the cheque to John Jesky, chairman of Pennine Acute Trust, and Sister Michelle Ruane. Pictured (back, from the left) are Pat Wild, Christine Mylott (voluntary services manager), Rose Hall, Ann Garside, Alison Wild, Ann Morris, Sylvia Holland.
THE Royal Oldham Hospital is poised to switch to digital, thanks to a £5,000 charity donation.
The money was given by the hospital’s League of Friends charity to buy 10 new digital televisions.
And it means all clinic areas and waiting rooms for outpatients departments will be ready for the switchover next month.
The cheque was handed over to trust chairman, John Jesky, and Sister Michelle Ruane, deputy manager of the outpatient departments, by the charity’s chairman, Joan Tomlinson.
A delighted Mr Jesky, chairman of Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust, which runs the Royal Oldham, said: “The League of Friends has worked ceaselessly for many years to raise money for our patients, and I cannot thank them enough for everything they do.”
Sister Ruane added: “With the TV digital switchover taking place in November, the main outpatient department areas were about to find themselves without entertainment for the patients who attend the many clinics across the hospital.
“Televisions assist in creating a calming environment for the patients who can be sat waiting, sometimes in an anxious state, for their appointment in the clinics.
“This is an exceptional donation and we are so grateful for it.”
Presenting the cheque, Mrs Tomlinson said: “We all know how nerve-wracking it can be waiting for results or waiting to have a procedure performed, and I hope the diversion of a television will help take the patients minds off their troubles.”
The League of Friends was established 49 years ago to raise money for the hospital.
Monthly meetings are held in the hospital’s education centre, and anyone interested in joining should contact Chris Mylott, voluntary services manager, on 0161-627 8561.
