Members of the Friends of Ross Community Hospital gathered to mark the start of work on a new lift which will make the garden area much more accessible for staff, patients and visitors.

The Friends have provided about £85,000 for the project, which is about half the total cost ,and as well as the lift, there are plans to improve the garden area, using some of the local groups such as brownies and the Men’s Shed to help.

Jan Elliot told the Ross Gazette that having this second lift will make a big difference to the hospital. She said that the community is lucky to have such hardworking and supportive Friends.

Frank Illingworth, the Project Liaision Manager for the Wye Valley Trust has worked with Jan at Ross for many years and as well as ensuring the technical details of the installation are up to scratch he also looks at all aspects such as security and privacy.

He added that utilising the garden will be a great benefit to patients.

It is hoped that the lift will be ready to use by autumn.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.