John switches on to hospital telly appeal
TVs in a sorry state on wards at Oban hospital channelled patient John McGee’s thoughts towards fundraising for new ones.
The 55-year-old from Bunessan on Mull came up with the idea after spending a week recovering from a serious infection on Ward B at Lorn and Islands Hospital.
One TV reached the ward before Christmas, with three more plugged in by the New Year with help from family-friend William Armstrong in Oban. And more TVs are on order. An appeal he made to well-wishers on Facebook for donations soon topped £1,000 and will stay open as a way of supporting the hospital, staff and patients. As well as televisions, he has board games and books on his wish-list once Covid restrictions allow.
Mr McGee’s niece Annemarie MacCrone has also helped with the special deliveries, including a huge haul of toiletries for patients.
Mr McGee, who has a rare auto-immune disease, said he could not help noticing during his latest hospital stay that some of the TVs were in ‘an aged and sorry state’, only able to get a few channels and most of the buttons on the remote controls were not working. The former fisherman and mussel farm manager decided he wanted to do something to help, especially as many of the patients were long-stay elderly.
‘I’m a great believer that the happier people are, the quicker they will heal. Some of the old boys I was on the ward with were just sick to get home. We could only get two channels on the TV we had. I managed to do something to get six channels in the end but it was a bit hit and miss. We eventually found some John Wayne films and they were in their glory watching them! It’s the little, everyday things that most of us take for granted that make a big difference to people stuck in hospital. Hospitals just don’t have the money nowadays to buy those kind of things, so other people have to step up and pitch in,’ he said.
Mr McGee put a post on Mull and Oban Facebook pages asking people for help to add to a ‘good donation’ he made himself.
‘This is a time for caring and sharing. All donations no matter how small would be very much appreciated.’
Donations can be made online via a Paypal link at mcgee-1965@ hotmail.co.uk