A FORMER Woodley councillor has become the new chairman for League of Friends, supporting the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Richard Dolinski said he was delighted and surprised to be elected, after only six months as a trustee.
“It’s a big honour for me,” he said. “There is a long line of exceptional people that have led the charity.
“The league is loved by a lot of people. Only the other day I found out someone left us £5,000 in their will.
“We make a real difference, and people want to leave something behind so we can carry on our work.”
Mr Dolinksi said his vision is to grow the charity, and expand volunteer membership into more ages, ethnicities and cultures, to reflect the diversity of patients at the RBH.
Its core aim is to support the trust with projects that benefit patients.
“The league can make a real difference,” Mr Dolinski said. “One of our projects is funding skylights in the ICU. If you’re a long term patient in the ICU, you have no concept as to whether it’s day or night, if you’re staring at a ceiling.”
As the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust undergoes changes to its estate, with more satellite clinics popping up, Mr Dolinski said the charity must become smarter in the way it supports patients.
“There’s the potential to even extend our presence into the High Street for events, as other leagues have done,” the chairman said.
“We are fortunate to have had a continuous stream of income over the last year, through our shops.”
The league runs a coffee shop in the Battle Block, and a grocery store, maternity shop and coffee outlet at the Maternity wards — both of which have been busy feeding patients, visitors and staff over the last year.
To boost fundraising initiatives, Mr Dolinksi is looking for a major, hi-profile sponsor to support the charity, and help direct funds into specific projects.
League of Friends was formed in March 1957, by the Royal Berkshire Hospital Management Committee.
Over 64 years, the charity has fundraised through membership, shops, fetes, collection days, donations, sponsors and special events.
Its first major project was to build an overnight stay unit at the Battle Hospital for mothers whose children had to be admitted to hospital suddenly.
