Supporting Savernake Hospital and the local community

Savernake Hospital

The Friends of Savernake Hospital and the Community was started over fifty years ago by a group of public spirited citizens of Marlborough to provide support to what was then the two hospitals in Marlborough.  The Marlborough Children’s Hospital provided recuperative facilities for children recovering from surgery in Swindon and elsewhere; and Savernake Hospital provided all the facilities of a community hospital, including surgery and maternity, for the people of Marlborough and the surrounding area.

Now, half a century on, the Children’s Hospital has gone, but Savernake Hospital still has a vital role to play in the healthcare of the surrounding community. Although the day hospital and Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) have been closed, the hospital offers a wide variety of clinics and outpatient services, as well as the 26-bed Ailesbury Unit, and Cotswold House, the eating disorders unit. And, of course, there is a lovely cafe with its little patio garden, and the Friends’ Shop right next door to it.

And what of the Friends over that period – has their role changed?

goodies at the Friends' shop

One might have thought, with the reduction in the provision of centrally-provided local healthcare, that the Friends might have been left seeking a role, but this has not happened.  If anything, our role has developed and broadened and we now reach out into the wider local community, into doctor’s surgeries providing diagnostic equipment, into local bodies associated with healthcare, into the training and development of clinical and support staff and, of course, in providing support, including a hospital shop, for our hospital.

2011 project – Defibrillators

defibrillator at St. John's

The Friends’ latest initiative is to fund the provision of defibrillators located throughout the town of Marlborough and it’s hoped that this, coupled with another initiative to promote a healthierlifestyle, may help to save the victims of heart attacks and indeed will help prevent them happening in the first place.

Defibrillators are currently being placed in and around Marlborough (May 2011) and there will be an update at the AGM on Thursday May 12th.

Training for anyone interested in learning how to use the defibrillators will take place when all are in place.

Donations and Bequests enable other healthcare projects

We have been extremely fortunate, in recent years, in being the recipients of a number of extremely generous bequests from local residents.  These have enabled us to embark on a range of projects specifically aimed to bring medical treatment back into the community, and to save patients from having to make costly and time consuming trips to hospital.

Some of our aspirations in this area, mainly those involving clinical personnel, are beyond our reach because of the high costs involved in the provision of salaries, pensions and insurance.  Other projects, involving, for example, diagnostic and treatment equipment used by existing clinical staff, are much more within our capability to provide but are nevertheless still very expensive.  Our strength lies in our ability to transform a bequest, however small, directly into a healthcare-related benefit to the Community.

Where will the Friends be fifty years from now?

Will we still be supporting healthcare in the community? Funding diagnosis and treatment in our own hospital? Sponsoring clinical specialists in the treatment of age related illnesses?  Who can tell?  One thing, however, is certain; that the Friends or, to be more accurate, the grandchildren of the Friends, will still be here, doing what we can to support our hospital, and aspiring to provide healthcare at the point of need – in the community.

Paul Lefever, Chair, Friends of Savernake