Hospital charity folds after raising more than £1m

Volunteers that ran a café and shop at Jersey’s hospital, raising more than a million pounds for the health department, say they are devastated they could not continue.

The League of Friends charity first opened a shop at the General Hospital in 1978.

During the Covid pandemic the shop and café were closed and the charity said the costs of reopening were too high.

It was dissolved a week ago in the Royal Court.

The former honorary secretary of the League of Friends, Carole Penfold MBE, said they would also have to start again from scratch, which they could not afford.

She said the charity had nearly quarter of a million pounds left, thanks to two legacies, and this was given to health to be spent on specialist equipment, including a dialysis machine.

Carole Penfold MBE, who was the charity’s honorary secretary, said the £230,000 left in its funds would be spent on equipment for the hospital

Mrs Penfold said she started volunteering when the café opened, which she believed was in 1980.

The café was part of her life for about 40 years, and she worked there twice a week.

Mrs Penfold said all the volunteers loved what they were doing, “the ability to talk to people when they needed a little bit of compassion and help” and were devastated it could not reopen.

She added: “We’ve all got a lot older in the last four years and the majority who would love to continue are now well past their prime.”

Mrs Penfold said it was the headmistress of the Brighton Road Girls School in the late 70s, who decided to call together some people to try to get the charity running.

Initially it was for the people taken ill while on holiday in the island and left alone in the hospital.

She said they would have someone who could visit and buy whatever they needed in town.

Patricia Donne Davis joined the League of Friends 40 years ago

Patricia Donne Davis, 83, joined in the early 80s as a co-ordinator of the League of Friends first shop.

She said it was at the Gloucester Street entrance of the General Hospital and sold papers, cigarettes, sweets and toiletries.

The volunteers not only manned the shop, but also welcomed patients, told them who their doctor was and recorded the arrivals.

They also took a trolley of food, drink and papers around for the patients.

After the Parade Road foyer was built the shop moved there and the café opened.

All the profits went towards paying for specialist medical equipment, over the years this included incubators, equipment for ambulances like stretchers and paediatric endoscopes.

Up until 2011 the café and the shop were separate but – thanks to the Jersey Construction Council – the charity had a new area built so they could be in the same space.

Mrs Donne Davis said it was lovely because all the volunteers could get to know each other when working.

She said patients came in before or after clinics to have sandwiches and coffees.

Patients would also come down from the wards when they were well enough to spend time with relatives.

Mrs Donne Davis said she was very sad at the loss of the charity: “It hit me when they said we are going to court to dissolve it and I thought, oh no, it’s gone now.

“A lot of people say they really, really miss us. It was good fun doing it for 40 years.”

The health department and minister have been approached for comment.

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