League of Friends invest £216k

The charity's annual meeting in the hospital's Health Centre on Wednesday will be told by treasurer Robin Barnett that 96,134 was spent on hospital equipment.

A further 120,000 was spent in a one-off gesture to assist Bexhill's family doctor surgeries to equip themselves for the expanded range of services now required of them.

The 3pm meeting will be attended by Town Mayor Cllr Eric Armstrong. The guest speaker will be Jim Davey, director of operations for East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust.

The treasurer will report another year of growth, bringing the league's assets to 2,074,871. Some 288,831 was received in legacies, including 136,876 from the estate of Mrs Vera French on the death of former league chairman and president John French.

Interest on investments yielded 93,490.

He says: "The amounts raised at the main events of the year, such as the Garden Party, coffee mornings and Sainsbury's collection have been significant, but were far outweighed by the community support evident on these occasions.

"Our membership has fallen during the year, but there has been an increase in the amount received through members paying their subscription by Gift Aid, thus enabling us to reclaim 28p for every 1 given."

In his final report before standing down after five years as chairman, Peter Mitchell-Davis pays tribute to the team effort by his colleagues.

"One cannot listen to the news or pick up a paper without reference to the state of our health service.

"It does to the outsider seem to be in a parlous state and the morale of staff I am sure is affected, but they continue to provide a service which is still the envy of the majority of the world.

"Hospital closure or the potential of closure is on the minds of patients and staff alike and I hope that the next few months will see a solution.

"We are fortunate in Bexhill as we have our Outpatients' department, Renal Dialysis Unit, and Irvine Unit which we guard jealously and continue to support in every way we can, although we must not lose sight of the fact that Bexhill's residents are also served by the Conquest Hospital."