Ward Clerk, Jenny Bell describes how Christmas was made special for the staff and patients at Romsey Hospital over the Festive period.
The service requested Brighterway funding to bring some Christmas cheer to the patients and staff.
“A lot of thought went into the patients presents, we chose what we thought were practical, yet nice gifts. Slippers went down a treat as not all patients had any or their old ones were not an appropriate style, worn out or broken.
We also chose lovely warm scarves, some patients saved them for when they went home and other patients liked to put them around their shoulders whilst they were still in our care.
Lastly, we bought each patient a mug and added a sachet of hot chocolate, coffee and a couple of tea bags ready for when they went home.
Our team of elves handed the presents out on Christmas morning, and they were very well received. These were the only presents many of our patients received on Christmas day, mainly due to the COVID-19 visitor restrictions.
The service recently opened our first designated staff / tea room and we wanted to give our colleagues something practical to use in the room on their breaks.
I’ve worked on the wards at Romsey for 13 years and this is the first year that staff have been given a Christmas present.
After researching various personalised gifts, the team decided on themed mugs. Along with their name and job title, they also included the colour of their uniform on the handle and insides.
Like the patients mugs, they also included a sachet of hot chocolate, coffee and a couple of tea bags.
For the remainder of the funding, we added new cutlery, crockery, canisters, biscuit tins, trays and a fruit bowl to go into the new break room.
We previously had mismatched jars, cups and plates so it’s lovely to have these replaced with matching, new ones.
The ward staff were very surprised with the gifts and loved the thought that had gone into each one.
Thank you to procurement for their patience and help with our purchases and also to Brighterway Charity for their generosity in helping make patients and staff smile.
It’s important to make them feel appreciated in these difficult times, especially at Christmas.
Thank you.”
