Is November a good time to be in hospital?

Late November, with its cold, dark days, its long nights and the raw, wet weather, must surely be one of the best times to be in hospital – if there’s ever a good time. 

But the days can still drag in hospital, and if it’s a while since we ourselves were last incapacitated, it’s easy to forget just how boring spending day after day in bed can be.  What’s important for patients need, just as soon as they are able, is to keep their minds occupied.  The more engaged they are, the quicker they will recuperate.  It’s a question of mind over matter.  

All too often as I walk through hospital wards, I see patients lying in bed with absolutely nothing to do.  Of course some of them will unfortunately be too poorly to do anything.  But for those that are up to it, getting involved in something to occupy their minds is the closest thing available to a panacea. 

As friends and relatives of people in hospital, we can help a lot by taking or sending them gifts designed to keep their minds engaged.  For example, puzzles, writing sets, cross stitch kits.  The A Friend in Need website (www.afriendinneed.co.uk) has a lot of good ideas for suitable presents, or if you know the patient well you can buy them something that will suit their particular interests.

Thanking the hospital staff

An idea occurred to me this week that I’m still kicking around – and would appreciate anyone’s thoughts on.

At AFriendinNeed.co.uk we send gifts to people in hospital on behalf of friends and family who unfortunately are not able to visit in person.  We enclose a greeting card, with a message from the friend or family member, and also a note to the patient informing them about the AFriendinNeed service.  We mention for instance that we make a donation to the “Hope and Home for Children” charity every time we receive an order.

What has just struck me, however, is that we could also include a note promoting anew service: a patient in hospital might well like to use the AFriendinNeed service to send a gift to the nurses on the ward or to other hospital staff.  .We’re going to try it out over the next few weeks – but in the meantime, if you have a view, please let me know.

Choosing the right Get Well cards

Christmas cards have now appeared in the shops in large quantities, and that reminded us this week that we need to review the cards we offer our customers.

At AFriendinNeed.co.uk we specialise in sending gifts to people in hospital on behalf of friends and family who unfortunately are not able to visit in person.  We despatch each gift with a greeting card, on which we write a message from the friend or family member.

We have a selection of cards that we display on the website.  Some are traditional “Get Well” cards; others have to be a little more subtle, as the patient may unfortunately not get better.  Some are designed primarily for women, some are for men, and some would suit anyone.

We try to select a range of cards that would appeal to most people, and we haven’t had any complaints so far.  However, we would always welcome any ideas on what makes an ideal card to send to someone in hospital.