Hospital backs Age UK’s campaign to end loneliness this Christmas
Staff and doctors at The Priory Hospital, part of Circle Health Group, have joined forces with Age UK Birmingham to support the charity’s annual ‘Give the Gift of Christmas’ campaign.
Each year, the charity delivers a small individual festive hamper to some of Birmingham’s most vulnerable and isolated older people. Last year alone, Age UK delivered 400 of these hampers across Birmingham.
Age UK Birmingham is committed to changing attitudes on how we age and is currently the city's leading charity specialising in support of the elderly and their carers. Now more than ever, their work is of vital importance.
Tragically, the most vulnerable of Age UK Birmingham clients often live alone and are unlikely to receive any visitors over the festive period. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact the most vulnerable in our society, Age UK Birmingham clients are tragically amongst the worst affected. In the last year alone, National Age UK have provided over £5 million in emergency cost of living funding as well as answering over 200,000 enquiries to their advice helpline. A further 8.4 million visits have been recorded to the National charity’s advice and specialist information pages on their website.
Staff and doctors at The Priory Hospital have set themselves the task of producing 100 hampers to be distributed across Birmingham in the run up to Christmas. Each hamper provides the recipient with items ranging from food stuffs, slippers, small gifts and personalised messages to open over Christmas. The hampers are then assembled at a central collection point for Age Uk Birmingham to collect.
Silvie Adams, Executive Director of The Priory Hospital, said: “Whether our amazing team are supporting those in need at The Priory or through causes like this, our commitment is the same. No one should ever feel alone or isolated at Christmas time and we are committed to collecting as many hampers as possible for this incredibly important cause. We are proud to be supporting Age UK Birmingham this Christmas.”
Steve Thomson, Chief Executive Officer for Age UK Birmingham, said: “At Age UK Birmingham we are grateful for the ongoing support from The Priory Hospital which enables us to address the challenges older people face during the winter and festive season. A combination of financial, health and social issues makes Christmas extremely challenging for the most vulnerable in our community. The Priory Hospital helps us to address these issues head on. With their help, we can ensure that older people have a safer, warmer and more connected winter and Christmas.”
