Staff at Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital got into the festive spirit on Wednesday to celebrate the launch of their new devoted hospital charities.

Volunteers kitted out in the charities' official purple tops handed purple balloons, purple cupcakes and wristbands to staff and visitors.

Those passing through the two hospitals also had the chance to pose for fun pictures with a variety of purple props and costumes.

The launch followed the acquisition of Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL) in July 2014.

The move saw the RFL’s Royal Free Charity expand to create two new arms, the Barnet Hospital Charity and Chase Farm Charity, which will each fundraise specifically for their own hospital.

The charity will provide its patients with the little touches and also fund bigger projects, both of which have a huge impact on our patients.

They will improve patient experience by providing hospital volunteers to help people find their way around, slippers for elderly patients and care packs for patients who arrive with nothing. 

They will also support major projects and buy specialist equipment that will make a real difference to patient care.

Last year the charity raised more than £15 million for the Royal Free London.

Among those attending the launch were Chris Burghes, charity chief executive, Julia Palca, chair of Royal Free Charity trustees, David Sloman, chief executive of the RFL, and Dominic Dodd, RFL chairman.

Chris said: “This is a really great moment for us. The services we provide at Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital will be at least as good if not better than the ones we provide at the Royal Free Hospital.

“Already you can walk around the hospitals and see our volunteers and our complementary therapists giving massages. We know that we can do more, but we can only do that with the support of the local people and the people at this hospital.”

Dominic pointed out that both Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital began life as charitable endeavours, before the creation of the NHS.

He said: “Charity has had a huge part to play in the history of our organisation and it is playing a huge part now. Often it is the little things like having slippers to give to older people who arrive without them or programmes that benefit our staff. But also the big contributions that can change the organisation.

“Charity and charitable giving is going to be a huge part of what we want to do in future.”

If you want to get involved in fundraising for your local hospital, you can view the charity’s planned events at www.royalfreecharity.org/events. 

If you’re keen to organise something of your own we would love to hear from you, please contact Alison Kira for more information.

You can donate to the charity by:

•    Making a one-off or regular donation
•    Becoming a ‘friend’ of the charity and making a small, monthly donation
•    Texting BHCH71 (Barnet Hospital) or CFHC95 (Chase Farm Hospital) and £5 (or any amount) to 70070

For more information call our head office at the Royal Free Hospital on 020 7472 6677 or email rf.fundraising@nhs.net. 

Find out more about our charities or follow them on Twitter via @BarnetHospChty or @RoyalFreeChty.

Image 1: (L-R) Chris Burghes, Royal Free Charity chief executive, David Sloman, RFL chief executive, Dominic Dodd, RFL chairman, Julia Paca, chair of Royal Free Charity trustees at Barnet Hospital Charity launch

Image 2: Chase Farm Hospital staff 

ENDS

About the Royal Free Charity

In July 2014 Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital became part of the Royal Free London. Since then the Royal Free Charity has been working hard on expanding the service. Barnet Hospital Charity and Chase Farm Hospital Charity are now up and running. All funds raised by each charity arm will be used to benefit patients at that specific hospital.

We provide the little touches and big differences, including volunteer meet and greeters to help people find their way around, slippers for elderly patients and care packs for patients who may have arrived with nothing with them.

We also support the big projects that make a difference, from specialist medical equipment to  art work that brightens up hospital corridors.

About the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

The Royal Free began as a pioneering organisation and continues to play a leading role in the care of patients. Our mission is to provide world class expertise and local care. In the 21st century, the Royal Free London continues to lead improvements in healthcare.

The Royal Free London attracts patients from across the country and beyond to its specialist services in liver, kidney and bone marrow transplantation, haemophilia, renal, HIV, infectious diseases, plastic surgery, immunology, vascular surgery, cardiology, amyloidosis and scleroderma and we are a member of the academic health science partnership UCLPartners.

In July 2014 Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital became part of the Royal Free London.

For further information, visit www.royalfree.nhs.uk