The festive lights are switched on and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) Charity has fundraising plans to improve the lives of patients and staff this Christmas.

The Charity is asking you to flaunt your favourite Christmas jumper or pair of jolly socks on Friday 16 December to help bring festive cheer to patients and staff.

It’s a great opportunity for non-clinical staff, visitors and even patients to join in the fun and donate £1 to a good cause. These donations will help the Charity provide chocolate hampers for patients and staff to share.

The Trust is expecting approximately 100,000 patients to visit its hospitals over the festive period. Whether that’s elderly patients with few or no family members, children receiving gruelling chemotherapy treatments to emergency admissions or people in need of life-saving treatment, the ‘season to be jolly’ will be business as usual at all of our hospitals.

Jennifer Chatham, charity services manager, said: “It can be tough for patients and their families who have to spend Christmas in hospital and we hope that these gift hampers can help spread the joy at this very special time of year.”

If you work for a company who is looking to give to a local charity this Christmas, please consider supporting patients at Heartlands, Solihull, Good Hope and Birmingham Chest Clinic and have your own Charity Christmas Jumper Day.

To find out more or to make a donation to the HEFT Charity Christmas Jumper Campaign please call 0121 424 0973, donate by visiting our Just Giving Page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/FestiveJumperDay or text FEST04 £1 to 70070 to donate.