Monday, June 1, 2020 - 09:55

In Perspective: We’re always looking for more members!

The PANORAMA met both Lydia Griffith and Lynne Ross at the John Mackintosh Hall. We sat at a table as Lydia poured coffee for ourselves and Lynne. Asked about the League, its founding, and goals, they said: “We were set up over 50 years ago starting from last year. Obviously we were going to have our celebration this year.”

The League of Hospital Friends (GLHF) is there to “support both patients and staff in the GHA on things that the Government or the GHA wouldn’t provide”. This could be, they explained, anything from “simple things to bigger things”: shavers, blankets, pyjamas, pencils, spoons, presents for long-stay wards and even Christmas Trees. “Anything that the Health Centre would need”.

In recent years they have been relatively inactive, “practically since this Government entered”, said Lydia. “We had a project to have a paediatric waiting area, but because of administrative difficulties, we decided that when the covid-19 pandemic struck Gibraltar we would put all that money in the Covid-19 GHA fund. We gave £20,000”. Their recent press release stated: The League of Hospital Friends looks forward to supporting the GHA on an enduring basis for many decades to come. At this specific and exacting time, the Charity hopes that the £20,000 donation will help in some small way in this most extraordinary hour of need. We would like to publicly thank everyone at the GHA for the outstanding duties they continue to perform for our benefit in the face of the Covid-19 assault.

EVENTS

The League funds the charity through its members and various events they have hosted in the past. “We have members. Paying members – 80 to 90 members. What they do is they pay a certain fee. We normally hold an afternoon tea where we hold our AGM. The Governor was our patron with the Governor’s wife.” This had clearly changed since then, given Vice Admiral Steel’s very recent appointment to office. “We’ll write to him and ask him if he wants to be our patron. It happens every time there’s a new Governor”.

Lydia clarified, “When Fulton came, his wife didn’t want to be involved – so he was the patron. So hopefully he’ll [Steel] will be a patron. With their wives you get more interaction”, owning to the Governor’s responsibilities (“If he went to a meeting to every association that he’s a patron of then he wouldn’t have hours in the day”). “Lorraine used to come to our meetings and she used to be involved and Susie Jones always used to come. Susie more than anyone really”.