Bedford Hospital Charity & Friends

24/10/2026

Earlier in the summer, the Rotary Club of Bedford organised a fundraising Auction of Promises with a very generous 80% of funds coming to us. Many of us helped source great promises. Russell Beard had very kindly agreed to be the auctioneer and certainly did his utmost to secure the best price possible for the varied promises! Many thanks to you Russell. A delicious supper was provided by Kate Bliss and a wonderful evening was had by all. It was a great pleasure to recently join the club for their lunch meeting and receive a cheque for a remarkable £4000. Huge thanks to Dick, Ivan and the entire Rotary team for all your hard work giving us all a very memorable and successful evening. Penny Flack Dick Wilkinson

04/10/2026

Thank you to the Bedford Independent for taking the time to speak to us and write about the recent upgrades to the Primrose Unit and its history.

Our first chair, Brian Woodrow, was instrumental in creating a permanent treatment centre for local cancer patients, and thanks to him and the support of many local people, it continues to help people today.

Read more at the link below.

Decades of community fundraising by local people have culminated in a major upgrade to the Primrose Unit at Bedford Hospital. Find out how these tireless efforts have transformed the space into a comfortable sanctuary and increased treatment capacity for patients. Read the full story at the link in the comments below...

01/10/2026

Our sincere thanks to the wonderful Margaret Lancaster for using her considerable knitting skills to create such beautiful outfits for some very lucky babies. These lovely handmade garments will be available on our Tuesday stall just outside The Swannery. Hope to see you there!
Bedford Hospital Bedford Borough Council Bedford Independent

30/09/2026

Our popular Art Week returns Tuesday, 3 November to Saturday, 7 November, at the Basement @ Bunyan on Mill Street. Open daily from 11am to 4pm, the free-to-enter exhibition features a creative selection of donated artwork and handcrafted pieces.

Alongside the daily gallery, three special events are taking place during the week. Read more at the link in the comments...

29/09/2026

Everyone enjoyed a fantastic afternoon at the Wixams Retirement Home last week! Jennifer Heseltine and her social committee at the Wixams Retirement Home organised their annual charity afternoon for the Primrose Car Service and the Primrose Unit. The social group had worked so hard and decorated everywhere in our charity's blue! There was lots of praise from the residents for the charity, Primrose Car Service and the Primrose Unit. The residents had all contributed to the raffle. In fact, they had contributed so generously the raffle took virtually an hour! There were so many great prizes, too. Many of the residents and guests baked cakes which everyone much enjoyed during the afternoon. There were a number of special visitors who dropped in during the afternoon including Blake Stephenson MP, Cllr Graeme Coombs, Cllr Mark Frost. Jacqui and Simon, attending on behalf of our charity, had a great time helping and chatting to many residents plus other guests.
This wonderful event raised an amazing £2032 - our most sincere thanks to all at the Wixams Retirement Home!
Bedford Borough Council Bedford Independent Bedford Hospital

22/09/2026

Supporters, volunteers, and friends of Bedford Hospital Charity & Friends recently gathered in the garden of Peter and Heather’s home this summer to celebrate a major milestone: 20 years of the Primrose Car Service (13 June).

Over two decades, it has turned a stressful journey into a daily story of community care, completing nearly 100,000 individual trips. Read more about the last 20 years and those who volunteer for this vital service in the comments...

29/06/2026

It was a real pleasure last week to invite the High Sheriff of Bedfordshire to officially open the Stabilisation and Treatment room on Riverbank Ward. In a few short months, this room has been transformed from a very tired and drab environment to a bright, colourful and welcoming room. It now feels more spacious as new storage has been included which is also very colourful. In fact, the colours help in a very practical way and indicate what is held within! This is now a very welcoming environment for children who are needing stabilisation and assessment prior to treatment. We are very happy to have helped this project progress so quickly. Huge thanks to Mandy Shoben and team in the hospital for bringing everything to fruition so swiftly.
Bedford Hospital Bedford Borough Council Bedford Independent

27/06/2026

Earlier this week, it was wonderful to celebrate with Dr Moj Goonewardene the added benefits to the cardiology department brought by the two echo machines supplied by our charity a year, or so, ago. We were privileged to be joined by the High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, Ismail Anilmis, and Trustee of our charity. It was extremely good to hear how the department has been able to fine tune assessment and diagnosis for their patients and bring significant efficiency to the daily practice.
Bedford Hospital Bedford Borough Council Bedford Independent

20/06/2026

Our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected by the dreadful train crash yesterday. We are very saddened to know that one person has very sadly lost their life and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this most difficult time.
A major incident has been declared and our emergency services have worked around the clock. Our sincere thanks to all the staff in the A&E departments of our Hospitals and to all the emergency services for your remarkable immediate response and compassionate care.
Bedfordshire Police Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Bedford Borough Council Bedford Hospital East Anglia Ambulance Service

17/06/2026

Today we were delighted to buy and donate lots of cakes, to support the 4th annual Estates and Facilities Day at Bedford Hospital, celebrating the brilliant Estates and Facilities teams who help keep the hospital running every single day.

From engineers and electricians to cleaners, security staff, porters and admin teams, these are the people working hard behind the scenes to support patients, visitors and colleagues.

The weather may have been a little grey, but the event still brought plenty of smiles, appreciation and, most importantly, cakes!

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to celebrate the team, and to La Rondine for once again providing 300 delicious cakes and actually, themselves, donating 20% of them.

It was a lovely reminder of just how much these unsung heroes do for Bedford Hospital. 💙