EnhancingCareforOlderPatientsSmall Acts of Friendship is a programme of activities to help olderpatients to retain dignity, social activity, mobility and well-being sotheyfeellessinstitutionalisedinhospitalandbetterabletore-jointhecommunitywhentheyleave.

Spring - Summer 2017

Ournewwebsite:www.brightonhospitalfriends.org.uk-telluswhatyouthink

AllWelcome

ANNUALGENERALMEETINGTuesday30thMay6pm

SussexHouse,AbbeyRoad,BrightonBN21ESSpeakerDrMunaAlJawadfromtheElderlyCareTeamatBSUHwillintroduceSmallActsofFriendship

ComeandmeettheTrusteesandhearabouttheworkofthecharityoverthelastyearRefreshmentsServed

PleaseRSVP:office@brightonhospitalfriends.org.ukorcall01273664936

Managed by the Elderly Care team at Royal Sussex County Hospital, Small Acts ofFriendship is supportedbyFriendsofBrighton&HoveHospitals. Thisnew initiative isafundraisingfocusforusin2017.Readmoreinsidethisnewsletter.

Friends of Brighton & Hove Hospitals

Putting Patients First

FriendsintheCommunity

StaffandpatientsappreciatetheequipmenttheFriendsfundIjustwantedtopassonLevel9a’sgratitudefortherecentHospitalFriends’fundingofareclinerchair.Withindaysofarrivalthechairwasputtogooduseforaladywhoneededtostayforseveralnightswithhersickandconfusedmother.Shefounditextremelycomfortableandwasverygratefultohavetheuseofit.Itwillbeinregularuseforrelativesneedingtostayovernightwiththeirlovedones.Thankyousomuch.Emma:StaffNurse

SeasonalFundraising

APoetryReadingatStWulfrunsinOvingdeanorganisedbySarahTobiasraised£50fortheFriends.

CarolsByCandlelight–theannualChristmasCelebrationheldatStGeorge’sChurchbroughttogetherNHSChoirs‘SingtoEnjoy’(theBSUHChoir),‘ComeandSing’(theCancerSupportChoir)andTheChoirofStGeorge'sChurchwiththeChaplaincyServiceattheRoyalSussexCountyHospital.TheFriendsprovidedrefreshmentsandorganisationfortheeveninganddonationsreached£609.00.

FournewChristmasCarddesignswerecommissionedfromlocalartistsandsoldacrosstheCity.

ThesepatientresearchtabletsareinstalledintheSexualhealthandContraception(SHAC)clinicsat

MorleyStreetandtheLawsonUnit.WearecurrentlyusingthetabletstocollectFriendsandFamilydata

andhavereceivedsomereallyusefulfeedback.

Thankyouagainforyourhelpwithallthis.Wehavebeenabletosubmitabstractstoconferencesusingdatacollectedfromthisresearchandalsohavesomeotherexcitingsurveyslinedup.Thepatientsseemtolovethem.Dr.SuneetaSoni:ConsultantinSexualHealthandHIV

FreshNewWebsite

LocalWebDesignersBoxHarrycelebratedthecompletionofthenewFriendsitebywriting:

FriendsofBrighton&HoveHospitalshaveawebsiteasfriendlyandopenastheyare.It’sagreatexampleofhowfaratemplatecango.TheFriendsusetheUmbracoCMStoeasilyupdatethemanyfeaturesontheirBootstrapwebsiteincludinglargeimagegalleriesandvideoplayers,engagingcontentanimationsandtogglebarswhichrevealcontenttotheuserwhentheyarereadyforit.Takealook:

www.brightonhospitalfriends.org.uk

CommunitySupport SharonClark,TeamLeadatLewes&HavensCommunityStrokeRehabTeam,basedatNewhavenPolyclinic,thankedtheFriendsforarangeofsmaller,inexpensiveitemstoaidpatientsrecoveringfromstrokewithinthecommunity.Theseitemsreallydomakeadifferencewhensupportingpatientstoregaincontrolandindependence.TheseincludetheHandsteadyMug,ClearNoseyCup,SockAids,RoombaIndoorRollator,aPolarFT1HeartRateMonitor,AphasiaActicityWorkbooksandarangeofsimplewrittenguidesanddiagnostictoolstoassiststaffingentleandeffectivetreatmentandsupportforpatientswithverydifferingneeds.

FriendsofBrighton&HoveHospitals

Putting Patients First

ManythankstoeveryonewhoraisedvitalsponsorshipfortheFriendsbyrunningthe2017BrightonHalfMarathon:

Allie,Anita,Gary,Katy,Nicola,Nick,Simon1,Simon2andStef.

Totalraisedis£2,104.00

SpecialthankstoFionaTurtonwhoraisedseveralhundredpoundsrunningthe2017BrightonMarathononahotAprilday.

Hospitalscanfeelsooverwhelming,yetmanyofushavedeepgratitudeforthecareweweregivenwhenweneeded it. As the pressures on the NHS grow, more and more of its resources have to be directed tomaintainingtheessentials.Thereislessmoney,andtime,forthelittleextrathingsthatpeoplewouldlikebutdonotabsolutelyneed–thesortofthingsthatwouldmakethemfeelabitbetterandmakethemfeelmorecaredforpersonally.Thatisparticularlythecaseforolderpeople,andespeciallyiftheyhavetobeinhospitalforsometime.Theycanloseconfidenceandbecomeincreasinglydependent,andsolessmotivatedtodothehardworknecessaryforrehabilitation.

Totryandbreak intothatdownwardspiral for the first time(innearly70years)FriendsofBrighton&HoveHospitals is funding a newmember of staff. Their jobwill be toworkwith the clinical teamson the elderlymedicalwardstoidentifywhoneedswhichofthelittleluxurieswewillbeproviding.

Therearelotsofideas-itmayjustbeamorningnewspaper,havingsomeonetochatto,makingsuretheycanwatchTV,or anicepieceof cakewith their afternoon tea. Itmightbeahair-door amanicure. Itmightbeadditional therapy, perhaps music or something to stimulate memory. The whole project is aimed atrecognisingpeopleasindividuals,andreallyvaluingandsupportingthat.

DrCharlesTurton,FriendsTrusteeandViceChair

WewelcomeanyinvolvementfromdonationstovolunteeringtomakeSmallActsofFriendshipasuccessandensuretheinitiativemakesarealcontributiontocareofolderpeopleinBrighton&Hoveandbeyond.

Thankyouforyourinterestinourflagshipprojectfor2017/18.Wemeanittowork towards our twin objectives of supporting the hospitals with things theycan’tafford,andhelpingourcommunitiesunderstandtheirhospitalsbetter.

AlmostdailywehearyetmoreaboutthedifficultiesbesettingourNHS.Itseemsalmost a perfect storm: more older people … more difficulties getting newtechnologies and treatments … more delays getting people home … longerwaiting times … more financial difficulties … more media stories about thingsgoingwrong.

Getsocialwithus:Findourpageon FollowusonTwitter:

FriendsofBrighton&HoveHospitals|www.brightonhospitalfriends.org.ukPatron:SallyGunnellOBEDL

Friends of Brighton & Hove Hospitals

CycleRidearoundtheBrighton&LewesDownsUNESCOWorldBiosphereRegionRaisingmoneyfor27MayoralCharities

TheFriendsorganisedtheinauguralcharitybikeridearoundtheCityBiosphere.http://www.thelivingcoast.org.uk/Over150cyclistsjoinedMayorCllrPeteWestonagloriousridethroughSussex.TimHoltamFounderandDirectorofBrightonTableTennisClubcycledwiththreeAfghanrefugees:thiswastheirfirstvisittotheSussexcountrysideandtheyreallyenjoyedtheevent.Over£6,850hasbeenraisedinsponsorshipandthereisstilltimetoaddyoursupportfortheMayoralCharitiesatwww.gofundme.com/mayorscharities?ssid=935535520&pos=2

WAYSYOUCANSUPPORTTHEFRIENDS

o Aregulardonationhelpsusplanandiseasytosetuporamendo Undertakeachallenge–run,walk,cycle,swimormakecakesandaskyourfriendstosponsoryouSeewww.justgiving.com/fbhh/forinspirationandideaso Alegacyinyourwillcanhelpusinthefuture–contactusforinformationandlocalwillwritingserviceso InMemoryGiving–FuneralDirectorscanarrangefordonationstobedirectedtothischarityo Shopandsupportusatwww.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/hospitalfriends/

WealwaysclaimGiftAidoneligibledonationsmakingyourmoneygofurther

Thankyouforyourcontinuedsupport

The Old Chapel 37 St George’s Road Brighton, BN2 1ED

office@brightonhospitalfriends.org.uk Newsletter by: Suzy Horne 01273 664936 Photographs:©FriendsofBrighton&HoveHospitals

Registered Charity No. 209414

Asreportedinthelastnewsletter,HarryGaston,NHSadministrator,teacher,BulletinEditor,authorandtrusteediedinOctober2016.HislegacyincludesseveralhospitalhistoriesexamininghealthcareinBrighton&HovefromtheopeningoftheRSCHin1828totheadventoftheNHSandmorerecentchangestohealthprovisioninhospitals.Allarefullyillustratedandareuniquegifts.×Brighton’sCountyHospital1828–2007×TheAlexStory×ALingeringFear×LostHospitalsofBrighton&Hove×BrightonBorn,SussexBredOrderatwww.brightonhospitalfriends.org.ukorcontacttheoffice