Medical staff help food bank

Staff at Perth Royal Infirmary are giving back to their community by donating to the local food bank.

The group were encouraged to give what they can by the union Unite, which gifted £250 to buy essential items for the food bank.

The staff also thought this was a great way to tie into NHS Tayside’s Pay it Forward campaign.

Staff from across the hospital have donated items such as pasta, tins of soup and shampoo and shower gel which will be handed over to the Perth and Kinross Foodbank.

Medical secretary and Perth Royal Infirmary Unite rep Lorna Robertson helped to coordinate the donations.

She said:“We only started collecting last week and I was blown away with how much we received in just a short space of time.

“It’s so important to start paying it forward to help those in need during this difficult time.”

The NHS Tayside Pay it Forward campaign was initiated by members of staff who wanted to donate items to communities across Tayside to say thank you for the support they have received during the coronavirus pandemic.

As there has now been a welcome decrease in the number of coronavirus patients and the focus is turning to planning for the next phases, staff decided that it was now their time to give back.

A list of organisations accepting donations can be found on the NHS Tayside website.

The video to accompany the launch of the campaign can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 26wbny4ywvw&feature=youtu.be