An afternoon tea party was the order of the day at Lisburn’s Primary and Community Care Centre as a way to say a huge thank you to the Lisburn Voluntary Laundry Service for their extremely generous donation of £25,000 to purchase community equipment. The money was raised through kind donations to the service over the last number of years.
The Voluntary Laundry Service have been providing a vital service from 1978 and deliver laundered hospital sheets to patients in the community, many with palliative conditions, Dementia or continence issues.
With a team of 16 volunteers, the service is provided 52 weeks of the year, rain or shine, with volunteers covering different runs and areas to more than 60 service users.
A volunteer with the Laundry Service for a staggering 42 years, Margaret Tweed described how it is a privilege to provide the service to patients in the community. Margaret said, “My husband helps me and we collect the sheets on a Thursday morning. The people are just so nice and grateful when they receive their sheets. It’s fantastic to be a part of.”
Voluntary Laundry Co-ordinator Jim Braiden has 23 years under his belt and explained how the patients he visits, “appreciate the service.” “I know many of the homes I visit enjoy the conversations and the company.”
Community Equipment Lead Philip Williams explained how the money will be spent, Philip stated, “Through this very kind donation, we have ordered 40 foam mattress’s and a number of bed accessories. This will help to replenish stock that was running low for us which will really benefit our community patients.”
Interim Assistant Director Primary and Integrated Care Janice Colligan added, “This is an invaluable service providing not just practical support for patients and their carers, but also social contact and support. We are delighted to accept this very generous donation which will be used to purchase community equipment such as beds, mattresses and syringe drivers for palliative care patients.”