Rugby hospital gets by with a little help from the Friends

Another year of outstanding support has been celebrated by Rugby’s Friends of St Cross.

Rugby Mayor Maggie O’Rourke joined around 60 members and guests at the latest AGM.

She said: “St Cross has a special place in my heart as my father worked as an ODP in theatres and my mother worked in the dining room for consultants. In addition, I worked in the Pharmacy Department for 22 years.

"I am passionate about the Friends as I worked very closely with Derek Masters when he was the Chair of the charity which was known then as The League of Friends.

"I would like to thank all the volunteers for their hard work and dedication and acknowledge that they help to provide a culture of tangible patient care.”

Cllr O’Rourke and Doug Jones presented long service awards to Willy Goldschmidt and Ann Purcell, who have both served as volunteers for ten years.

Robert White, General & Ultrasound Superintendent Radiographer at St Cross spoke about the wide range of imaging services that are offered at the hospital.

He thanked the Friends for the donation of equipment costing £70,000 which include the purchase of a new ultrasound machine which will significantly increase the capacity for scans to be undertaken at St Cross.

Willy Goldschmidt, President of the Friends of St Cross, said: “We are always delighted to support the expansion of the services offered at the hospital.

"We can only do this thanks to the tremendous support we receive from the community in Rugby and in particular, on this occasion, from the Hinckley and Rugby Building Society which donated £10,000 towards the cost of this project.”

Karen Tomlinson, who works tirelessly to support the Friends board and the team of service co-ordinators who lead the team of over 170 volunteers, was presented with a bouquet for her work.