ED bookstall raises money for FORCE
Staff from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital’s Emergency Department have raised £265 for FORCE by running a second-hand bookstall in their waiting room.
The team were keen to improve the experience for patients and relatives who spend time waiting in ED by making the area more user-friendly.
Emergency Consultant Physician Gavin Lloyd had been impressed by similar waiting room schemes he’d seen in other Emergency Departments and so suggested the idea to his colleagues.
ED Research Assistant Practitioner Jennie Small took on responsibility for setting up and running the waiting room book stall early in 2015.
She told us: “Many of the patients and relatives said that they were bored and that they had nothing to do when they were waiting to be seen in ED. When Gavin mentioned about the bookstall I said I’ll make it work!’ I stock it up with donations of books from staff, family or friends and my colleague, Claire, keeps it looking tidy throughout the day. We know that there is always going to be a wait for patients, so anything we can do to improve that the better!”
The books are available for a small donation of 50p and to date the stall has raised £265 which means over 500 books have been sold!
The team recently handed over their fundraising total to Gerry Gillespie from FORCE.
Our pictures shows (left to right) Gavin Lloyd, Consultant Emergency Physician and ED Patient Champion, Claire McCucker, Domestic, Gerry Gillespie, FORCE Oncology Support Specialist, Jennie Small, ED Research Assistant Practitioner, Adam Reuben, Consultant Emergency Physician, and Caroline Dowse, Senior Nurse for ED.
