​The Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust has donated £3,000 to Dorset County Hospital’s Fortuneswell Ward to fund additional facilities for each of the five single side rooms on the ward.

Jane Weeden and Richard Drake met with members of staff from Fortuneswell Ward on 7 December to present their cheque for £3,000 and discuss the project further. Simon Leaton, the Fortuneswell ward clerk, had originally proposed the improvements to the ward’s single rooms to Ducks and Drakes. The new equipment will also make these rooms more suitable to be used as end-of-life suites if needed. The proposal was for the funding of additional features including TV monitors with integrated capability to play music, videos and other sounds and lighting visuals. Family and friends of patients using the rooms would also be able to bring in their own photos and music on USB sticks.
Younger patients would be able to use the screens to connect to games consoles if they wished. In addition, the donation has funded portable DVD players, DAB radios and DVDs to be used alongside the new equipment.

Jane Weeden from the Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust said,
“We are so pleased to donate this money to the Fortuneswell Ward, which does such a fantastic job in looking after local cancer patients. We hope that funding the technology to allow patients and their families to enjoy family photos, music, games and videos will make a small but positive and comforting difference during extremely challenging times.”

Simon Pearson, Head of Charity and Social Value at Dorset County Hospital said,
“This is an incredibly generous donation from the Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust which will make a real difference to the patients who use these rooms and also to their families. In particular it will enable patients to enjoy the photos, sights and sounds that have special significance for them.”

Simon Leaton said,
“We are a dedicated team on Fortuneswell ward who are always looking for ways to improve the environment for our patients. We really appreciate this help which will mean a lot to anyone using those rooms at what can be a very difficult time.”
​
The Fortuneswell Ward cares specifically for patients with cancer and malignant haematology disease. For more information about the work of DCH Charity please visit www.dchcharity.org.uk or email charity@dchft.nhs.uk