Health staff make difference to older people this Christmas

Health staff make difference to older people this Christmas

Health staff in Swansea have made a difference to the lives of older people in the community this Christmas.

They collected more than 150 shoeboxes filled with gifts to help make it a special time for those living in care homes.

Their generosity was part of Age Cymru’s annual shoebox appeal, which helps many care home residents who have no family to spend time with during the festive period.

ABMU’s older people’s mental health team contributed to the boxes, including hospital staff at Ysbryd y Coed, community teams in Cwmbwrla Clinic and Ty Garngoch, along with their friends and family.

Social worker Pamela Johnson said:

“As a team, we have collected approximately 110 gift boxes this year, all of which have been distributed to people in the Swansea area.

 “Through our work, we come into contact with many individuals who do not have the company of friends and family to look forward to at Christmas, which is incredibly heart breaking.

 “Our hope is that, for those we have been able to reach, we have been able to make Christmas seem a less lonely time.”

Staff at Morriston Hospital also contributed to the Age Cymru scheme, collecting 46 boxes in total for those who may not have had a present otherwise.

Jane Russ, a nurse on the trauma ward, said:

“We told staff about the shoebox appeal and they came up trumps.

“I am absolutely amazed that we collected 46 in total.

“A big thanks to my colleagues on the trauma and orthopaedic wards, Powys ward and T&O nurse practitioner team at Morriston for the generous donations to the Age Cymru shoebox appeal.

 “We hope that they made a big difference to the lives of older people this Christmas.”

Age Cymru’s Sarah Lord, who organised the Gift Box appeal across the whole of Wales said:

“We were totally overwhelmed by the generosity shown by the ABMU healthcare staff and their families who contributed so much to our appeal.

“In line with our ethos ‘No one should have no one to turn to’, and many of these care home residents having no close family to visit them over the festive period, we know that having a gift to open makes a huge difference to them, and goes a long way towards bringing back a little festive joy.

“Thank you so much on behalf of all of us at Age Cymru.”