Photo Caption:
Warrant Officer Drayton, Mrs Catherine Drayton and Mrs Pearson of RAF Marham with representatives of the Fermoy Unit.

RAF MARHAM HELPS PATIENTS GO GREEN
13 February 2007

A new greenhouse, bought with donations, was recently officially unveiled at the Fermoy Unit at King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The majority of the cost of the greenhouse - £500.00 – was borne by RAF Marham’s Officers’ Mess Flower Ladies, to whom the fundraising team is especially grateful. Baytrees, of Fordham, near Downham Market, provided the greenhouse at a greatly reduced discount and installed it, with safety glass, free of charge.

Fundraiser Mrs Clare Harris, who lives in East Rudham said the greenhouse represented a practical way of saying thank you for the care offered by staff at the unit. “I went to day treatment at the unit” she said “I was very ill when I went there. The staff do such a fantastic job, and do so much on a shoestring. There are so many activities, which are simple but which you need so much when you are not well. The staff really build up your confidence – it’s just a really, really helpful place to be”.

“You see so much publicity for other conditions, like cancer or heart problems, but not mental health. Yes I have had depression, but you can still live and still get on, and there are people out there who can help and it’s not something you need to hide. With the help of the community team, I am feeling much better”.

Warrant Officer Mark Drayton of RAF Marham, said he was pleased to present the donation after his wife, Catherine, received treatment for depression at the Unit last year. Happily she is now firmly on the path to recovery. The Fermoy Unit is managed by Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health partnership NHS Trust. Community team leader Mr Peter King said “The greenhouse is going to help us develop the horticultural therapy we currently offer. We work with people who are acutely ill, as an alternative to hospital admission. We are very grateful to Clare, Frances, Terry and RAF Marham for their kind efforts, which will make a great deal of difference to the recoveries of the people we care for”.

So far, Clare and her fundraising colleagues – Mr Terry Cosgrove, of King’s Lynn, and Mrs Frances Singleterry, of South Wootton, have raised £2,000 for the unit, through a series of sales, coffee mornings and open events. They have previously assisted the work of the unit by buying a Workmate, larder fridge and accessories for a digital camera.

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