Dear reader,
Patients and visitors to benefit from new hospital car park Patients and visitors at West Suffolk Hospital are set to benefit from 400 additional parking spaces this year as work begins on a new £2m car park project. The extra spaces, which can also be used by staff, will be available from December after contractors have remodeled the current car parks. It is hoped that the project will relieve growing pressure on hospital parking, which has resulted in patients queuing for spaces during busy times. Craig Black, executive director of resources at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We appreciate that parking at the hospital has been an issue for some time, with patients, visitors and staff having difficulty finding spaces during peak periods. “Although we have introduced a range of initiatives which have helped, we have also seen a rise in people coming onto the site as demand for our services has increased, which is why we are keen to further increase provision. “The scheme has been carefully planned to make the most of the limited space available. It will be fully covered by CCTV and low level lighting, which automatically reduces by 50% after 8pm, while we will also use a noisereducing surface to minimise the impact on our neighbours. “We look forward to the completion of the project later this year and hope that it will be of benefit to everyone using the site.” If you have any questions about fundraising, any of the events mentioned above or how you can help the hospital, please contact fundraising@wsh.nhs.uk or call 01284 712952 18 | MARCH 2015
At our February meeting we welcomed some new ladies. Our speaker was Jason Salisbury who talked about “Suffolk Farmhouse Cheeses”. Jason is a first generation dairy farmer. He told us his extraordinary story of how his career journey evolved. His account showed how adventurous he has been from working in different parts of the country just milking cows, being an artificial inseminator and managing a Cambridge University Farm dairy unit. It did help that his wife is a vet but it is obvious that his success has been due to hard work and a vision. He told us his story in a very humorous way. In 2004 the couple began venturing out on their own and installed a milking parlour and purpose-built dairy. Even braver was to buy a farm in 2007 which was in a dilapidated condition. A new dairy unit was planned and a milking parlour and purpose-built cheese dairy created. Whitegate Farm, Creeting St Mary was officially opened in 2009. Fast track to the present time, the business has gone from strength to strength. They have a herd of 40 milking Guernsey cows and their care is kept to a very high standard. Luxurious creamy milk is produced which lends itself to produce good quality cheese. He did explain the trials and tribulations of getting to the standard they have achieved. Three cheeses are produced, Gold, Blue and Brie with the “Suffolk Farmhouse Cheeses” label. The produce is available in various local, regional and national outlets including Farmers Markets, Farm Shops and Specialist Delicatessens. They also have a farm shop and have diversified into other products as can be seen from their website. As part of the talk we were able to sample the Suffolk Gold cheese which is a lovely golden colour with a creamy taste. It was a very enjoyable talk. One of our ladies showed a sample of a Twiddle Muff and some Twiddle Mats that some of our members might like to make for dementia patients at West Suffolk Hospital.
Gloria Hollins NEW PRESS SECRETARY