League of Friends (Newark)
A registered charity no. 219251
Chair/Secretary - Nadia Whitworth - whitworthcharlie@aol.com
Vice Chair - Jane Combs
Treasurer - Bridget Cobb
The League of Friends of the Newark Hospital were formed in April 1957. The Friends are a motivated and active voluntary organisation committed to fundraising to enhance the patient services at our local community hospital. We do not have any paid fundraisers. The Friends are able to provide much needed equipment and comforts for the benefit of patients, visitors and staff through income raised by the work of our team of fantastic volunteers.
The Friends, supported by the Sherwood Forest Hospital Volunteers also run the Coffee and Gift Shop and the Outpatients' Tea Bar both of which are extremely popular. We continue to hold our usual events which include quiz nights, tombolas and very successful raffles. Any donations to support our fundraising activities would be very much appreciated.
2023
Patients will be able to receive treatment for chronic pain at Newark Hospital, thanks to funds raised by the Friends of Newark Hospital.
An IconicRF Generator has been purchased at a cost of nearly £30,000 and delivers non-surgical treatment for the management of pain in the nervous system. It uses heat to target specific nerves and block pain signals from reaching the brain.
Deepak Subramani, consultant anaesthetist at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “The use of this machine at Newark Hospital will greatly help our patients to obtain long-lasting pain relief; in turn leading to an improved quality of life. Radio-frequency denervation is a procedure that aims to change the way pain is transmitted by the nerve to the brain. The nerve is interrupted by heating (cauterising) it with an electrical current from the radio-frequency generator machine.”
Nadia Whitworth, chairman of The Friends of Newark Hospital said: “We are delighted to support the Pain Management Team in providing the funding for this valuable piece of equipment, which will enable patients to be treated locally and in a timely fashion.
“This has been funded with profits raised in our two refreshment areas and I would like to thank our fantastic team of dedicated volunteers. The Friends are very excited to hear about the planned investment in Newark Theatres and we look forward to supporting this with future fundraising.”
Having the treatment available at Newark will not only reduce waiting times but also provide flexibility and patient choice to those who would prefer to access their treatment at Newark Hospital without the need to travel further afield.
Patients are encouraged to ‘Ask for Newark’ at the point of referral with their GP or when speaking to their hospital team to check whether they could benefit from the expanded range of services at Newark Hospital.
Money raised through profits from the Refreshment areas at Newark Hospital were used by the League of Friends to purchase a bariatric chair for the Endoscopy Unit waiting area.
Chairman Nadia Whitworth and volunteer Jayne are pictured with Alison, Deputy Department Lead.