Friends of Ross Hospital recently held their AGM, at which the guest Speaker was Dr Simon Lennane of Alton Street Surgery. He commenced by saying how lovely it was to see so much support for Ross Community Hospital.

He spoke of the pressures on the NHS and of the direction that it would take in the future. He then answered varied questions from the audience.

The Chairman, Jill Davies, gave her report in which she detailed the many activities of the Friends during the past year, one of the highlights being the strawberry tea held in July to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the new hospital. They had some enjoyable, and well attended coffee mornings and of course, the annual fete, which was opened by the High Sherifff of Herefordshire. The Friends continue to offer the services of the shop and book trollies for the wards, and she thanked the volunteers who give up their time to do this. She concluded by thanking the Committee members for their hard work and dedication during the year.

Mr Little presented the Treasurer’s report and said the income for the year had remained on an even keel. The Friends continue to purchase daily newspapers for the wards which is an invaluable asset for the patients.

Many items have been purchased for the hospital, amongst some of the larger items being a patient bed lift, a horizontal bicycle for the physiotherapy department, fire resistant blinds and curtains for both wards and blood pressure monitors.

Community Hospital Sister, Jan Elliot, gave her report in which she said during her seven years at Ross she has always valued the wonderful support and hard work of the Friends. She spoke of the work undertaken by the hospital and said the next project is to ensure all the patients and team have a good Christmas.

Work is already underway to once again provide Christmas stockings for patients and hopefully a visit from Santa. She concluded by saying she hopes to continue to work with a fantastic team and to provide local services for local people.

The committee was elected and Mrs Davies was unanimously re-elected for a further year.

The next event being held by the Friends is the annual Christmas coffee morning on December 2nd.