Santa will visit more than 1,400 hospital patients on Christmas Day thanks to generous donations from the public.
NHS Grampian Charity, the official charity of NHS Grampian, has continued its annual tradition of providing gifts for patients who are staying in one of the health board’s hospitals over the festive period.
Lisa Duthie, Charity Lead, says, “Not everyone will get the opportunity to spend Christmas with their family and friends this year. Over 1,400 people will wake up on Christmas morning in a hospital bed instead, and will spend their day with health and care staff instead of surrounded by their loved ones.
“We are so grateful for the generous donations from the public which allow us to provide a small gift for each patient. No one should wake up without a gift on Christmas Day, and we are overwhelmed by the kind support of our donors which is helping bring a little bit of Christmas magic to hospitals across Grampian.”
Alison Evison, Chair of NHS Grampian, says, “The provision of so many Christmas gifts is testament to the incredible generosity of the people of Grampian, and I want to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported this initiative.
“While the NHS does try to get as many people home to their loved ones as possible over the festive period, there will always be patients who require hospital care over Christmas and New Year. Being away from their families at such a special time is so difficult, and small tokens like this help make it a little easier.
“I also want to thank the incredible staff who have spent weeks planning, buying and wrapping gifts, often in their own time, to make sure their patients have a special day.”
Around 70 wards at 16 different NHS Grampian sites will receive gifts this year. This includes Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s Ward 216, where Senior Staff Nurse Lynne Flett and patient Sheila recently enjoyed a special visit from Santa.
Lynne says, “We try to make Christmas Day as fun as possible for the patients we have staying on the ward, and one of our team even dresses up as Santa to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.
“Being able to give patients a gift to open on Christmas morning helps raise everyone’s spirits, and we are really grateful to everyone who has donated to help provide these.”
As well as presents, NHS Grampian Charity also supports Christmas decorations, and fun festive parties and activities for wards. If you would like to find out more and support people who are in NHS Grampian hospitals at Christmas, you can donate to the charity’s Christmas activities here.