The League of Friends of
Bexhill Hospital -
Working for the good of
Local patients since 1952
Reg. CIO Charity No 1169175 Sunbeams 41 Broad Oak Lane Bexhill-on-Sea TN39 4LG Email info@bexhillhospitalfriends.org.uk
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In the right place at last
NOT every League ambition on behalf of patients can be achieved swiftly. Some take a little longer, others an eternity.
After the Irvine Unit (originally the Bexhill Geriatric Unit) opened four decades ago it left the kitchen in the main hospital block which later went over to outpatient service and the inpatients way down at the bottom of the site in the Irvine Unit.
Various League initiatives over the years (decades!) to fund the transfer of the kitchen failed. At one stage hospital staff were using a League-funded electric van to transfer food from one building to the other.
Now League and Trust representatives have had the pleasure of celebrating the fact that the Irvine Unit now has its own kitchen.
Some months ago the League happily acceded to a Trust Bid (invitation) to spend around £90,000 on converting space in the unit Undercroft (cellar).
On Wednesday, December 10th in answer to Catering Services Manager Martin Gurney’s invitation to a “party,” Trust and League representatives gathered in the Conservatory where refreshments were being served.
At intervals, Martin escorted small groups down to see how part of the Undercroft had been plastered and decorated and a state-of-the-art kitchen installed.
Martin showed where contractors now unload pre-prepared meals every two days. He showed guests the immense freezer room, the dry store, the massive oven and the rest.
In the kitchen, Trust staff ready the meals which are taken by lift directly to the central Atrium and the bedded bays above. They also prepare soup and sandwiches when required and special dietary dishes.
Assistant Chef Russell Cumber explained: “This is the best kitchen I have ever worked in.
“It is much more modern than the old one. It is a lot smaller but that is good because the old kitchen was a lot too big than we needed.
“It is a lot easier to clean and the rationale is a lot more modern.”
Martin Gurney summed up the transformation: “It makes such a difference for the team.”
Upstairs, Trust Assistant Director of Facilities Michelle Clements thanked the League for funding the transformation and for all its “amazing” work on behalf of patients and staff.
NOT every League ambition on behalf of patients can be achieved swiftly. Some take a little longer, others an eternity.
After the Irvine Unit (originally the Bexhill Geriatric Unit) opened four decades ago it left the kitchen in the main hospital block which later went over to outpatient service and the inpatients way down at the bottom of the site in the Irvine Unit.
Various League initiatives over the years (decades!) to fund the transfer of the kitchen failed. At one stage hospital staff were using a League-funded electric van to transfer food from one building to the other.
Now League and Trust representatives have had the pleasure of celebrating the fact that the Irvine Unit now has its own kitchen.
Some months ago the League happily acceded to a Trust Bid (invitation) to spend around £90,000 on converting space in the unit Undercroft (cellar).
On Wednesday, December 10th in answer to Catering Services Manager Martin Gurney’s invitation to a “party,” Trust and League representatives gathered in the Conservatory where refreshments were being served.
At intervals, Martin escorted small groups down to see how part of the Undercroft had been plastered and decorated and a state-of-the-art kitchen installed.
Martin showed where contractors now unload pre-prepared meals every two days. He showed guests the immense freezer room, the dry store, the massive oven and the rest.
In the kitchen, Trust staff ready the meals which are taken by lift directly to the central Atrium and the bedded bays above. They also prepare soup and sandwiches when required and special dietary dishes.
Assistant Chef Russell Cumber explained: “This is the best kitchen I have ever worked in.
“It is much more modern than the old one. It is a lot smaller but that is good because the old kitchen was a lot too big than we needed.
“It is a lot easier to clean and the rationale is a lot more modern.”
Martin Gurney summed up the transformation: “It makes such a difference for the team.”
Upstairs, Trust Assistant Director of Facilities Michelle Clements thanked the League for funding the transformation and for all its “amazing” work on behalf of patients and staff.
THE world is at their feet – or alternatively in their hands – for Irvine Unit patients benefitting from rehabilitation care.
The Taj Mahal, Paris, Rome – patients using sophisticated new exercise machines funded by the League of Friends can select the choice of view before them onscreen as they pedal (or hand-propel) themselves to a level of fitness that will allow them to return to their homes.
Physiotherapy Unit staff were gathered to greet League representatives at a photo-call in the unit on Friday, March 13th to thank the League for two gifts.
Colourful bunting decorated the exercise area and tea, scones and cakes awaited the visitors. The large-screen television (a previous League gift which allows the unit to communicate rehabilitation exercises across the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust area) was displaying a “Thank you League of Friends” message.
League Chair Nigel Ray, Treasurer Chris Ashford and Trustee Graham Cox together with President and Secretary John Dowling learned how one group of patients had corporately pedalled the equivalent of the 100 kilometres between Bexhill and Paris in one venture.
Emma Quigley, Team Lead Physiotherapist for the unit’s award-winning Specialist Stroke Rehabilitation Team, escorted Chris Ashford to a wheelchair adjacent to the machine and showed him how to choose between foot or hand propulsion and how to opt from a world-wide choice of place settings and resistance levels.
The two Tor Theratrainers cost £25,990.
Then it was the League Chair’s turn to sample one of three highly specialised patient chairs. Together with another example for use in the shower, the chairs cost £9,986.
Julie-Ann Nuess, Service Manager, Intermediate Care, explained how the electrically-adjustable chairs with their infection-control surfaces, are allowing staff to assess patients’ needs before their discharge so that aids appropriate to home use can be provided.
The Taj Mahal, Paris, Rome – patients using sophisticated new exercise machines funded by the League of Friends can select the choice of view before them onscreen as they pedal (or hand-propel) themselves to a level of fitness that will allow them to return to their homes.
Physiotherapy Unit staff were gathered to greet League representatives at a photo-call in the unit on Friday, March 13th to thank the League for two gifts.
Colourful bunting decorated the exercise area and tea, scones and cakes awaited the visitors. The large-screen television (a previous League gift which allows the unit to communicate rehabilitation exercises across the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust area) was displaying a “Thank you League of Friends” message.
League Chair Nigel Ray, Treasurer Chris Ashford and Trustee Graham Cox together with President and Secretary John Dowling learned how one group of patients had corporately pedalled the equivalent of the 100 kilometres between Bexhill and Paris in one venture.
Emma Quigley, Team Lead Physiotherapist for the unit’s award-winning Specialist Stroke Rehabilitation Team, escorted Chris Ashford to a wheelchair adjacent to the machine and showed him how to choose between foot or hand propulsion and how to opt from a world-wide choice of place settings and resistance levels.
The two Tor Theratrainers cost £25,990.
Then it was the League Chair’s turn to sample one of three highly specialised patient chairs. Together with another example for use in the shower, the chairs cost £9,986.
Julie-Ann Nuess, Service Manager, Intermediate Care, explained how the electrically-adjustable chairs with their infection-control surfaces, are allowing staff to assess patients’ needs before their discharge so that aids appropriate to home use can be provided.
The world at their feet
