League of Friends associations were set up in the UK to provide support and assistance to hospitals and healthcare facilities within the National Health Service (NHS). These associations, such as ours at South Petherton Community Hospital, are charitable organisations formed by volunteers who aim to enhance the well-being of patients and improve the services provided by hospitals.

On the week of the NHS’s 75th birthday, The League of Friends agreed to help fund a brand new leg press machine for the community hospital.

The funds raised to support the hospital community are used in all sorts of ways and we are hugely grateful for all donations.

We are excited to announce the purchase of a new specialist device that will treat patients with spasticity.

In the weeks and months after a parent has a stroke or brain injury, families are usually under a considerable amount of strain. We are pleased to have funded the purchase of 50 books that are written to help children adjust to things that might be different at home and adjust to those changes.

The donations that we receive are used to improve the experience of patients and staff in all sorts of ways. We are delighted to announce that we are supporting a brand new pathway for women who experience post-menopausal bleeding, by funding a gynaecological examination couch. Women will now have a more comfortable examination and clinicians will benefit from an improved view of the area that needs examining.

Members of the League of Friends received three great presentations from NHS health professionals who had each submitted a request for funding.

Annual General Meetings have a reputation for being a shade dull – but never is that the case at the League of Friends of South Petherton Community Hospital AGM. Far from it!

Together, staff and patients demonstrated exactly why the hospital is so highly regarded by the community it serves. A wonderful tea party was held in the reception to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. In the same way that people across the country had the opportunity to gather and enjoy each other’s company, so too did the patients of the hospital’s Mary Robertson Ward. 

It was a privilege for two of the Trustees of the League of Friends to be invited by the hospital to participate in the annual PLACE assessment.

It is great to see the new decorative arch in place; welcoming all-comers to the hospital’s very special ‘Sharon’s Path’.