Help to Give the Gift of a Smile to hospital patients in Fife this Christmas

Fife Health Charity is calling on people across the Kingdom to help ensure every inpatient in Fife has a gift to open on Christmas morning.

While many of us will spend Christmas morning at home exchanging presents with family and friends, hundreds of patients will spend Christmas Day in hospitals across Fife.

For some, particularly those without family or friends nearby, Christmas in hospital can be a difficult and lonely experience.

Through its Give the Gift of a Smile Christmas campaign, Fife Health Charity is raising funds to provide a Christmas present for every inpatient across NHS Fife.

The initiative has been running for a number of years and enables patients spending Christmas in hospital to receive a gift to help make their stay a little bit easier.

Where staff know patients well, they often make the gifts particularly personal, taking into account their individual interests to select gifts that patients will enjoy. Staff have also been known to speak with family and friends to find out more about what individual patients might enjoy before carefully selecting and wrapping their presents ready for Christmas morning.

The difference a simple Christmas present can make was demonstrated last year as Shirley Ward, Senior Charge Nurse at Ward 1 of Glenrothes Hospital, explains: “No-one chooses to be in hospital over the Christmas period and so it can be an upsetting experience for some.

“By making sure we have a gift for every patient, carefully wrapped and ready for opening on Christmas Day, we can bring some well needed joy at an often difficult time.

“All of this is possible thanks to the support of Fife Health Charity, which makes such a difference to the experience of patients in hospital and their families at Christmas.”

Mark McGeachie, Director of Fife Health Charity, said: “For many of us, opening presents with the people we love is an important part of Christmas morning. Sadly, there will be patients across Fife who are simply unable to be at home with their families this Christmas.

“We want to make sure that every inpatient knows they have been thought about and has a present waiting for them when they wake up on Christmas morning.

“It may seem like a small gesture, but we know from speaking to patients and staff just how much it can mean, particularly to someone who may otherwise receive nothing.

“By supporting our Give the Gift of a Smile campaign, people across Fife can help us make Christmas morning that little bit brighter for patients spending it in hospital.”

People can support the campaign by donating online, sharing the appeal with friends and family, or encouraging their workplace or community group to get involved.

Donations to the campaign will help Fife Health Charity provide Christmas presents for inpatients in hospitals across Fife.

To donate and help Give the Gift of a Smile this Christmas, visit the Fife Health Charity Christmas Appeal.

To learn more about Fife Health Charity and how you can support our work across Fife, please visit: www.fifehealthcharity.org or email fife.healthcharity@nhs.scot.