BRECONSHIRE War Memorial Hospital has said thank you to a group of supporters who have donated more than £1.8million in just over half a century.

Brecon Hospital League of Friends has been supporting the hospital for the past 53 years by providing equipment and routine items for patients.

The hospital based on Cerrigcochion Road in Brecon has said it’s extremely grateful for the commitment of the group of charity supporters who have been meeting since 1967. The League of Friends has donated a total of £1,864,335 in equipment to the hospital which, in some cases, has enabled patients to be treated in the town rather than having to travel away.

In the past year, the charity group has purchased many items that are used by the departments within the hospital and its community.

Some of the items include chairs that assist the position of patients who are recovering from a stroke, specialist theatre equipment, blood pressure monitoring equipment for the diabetic nurse specialists and training equipment for the wards.

Sue Pearce of Powys Teaching Health Board said: “There are many more items that could be listed that show the overwhelming support that Brecon receives from the League of Friends.

“We just really wanted to say thank you. They’ve raised so much money for the hospital – last year they bought us a lot of equipment and we wanted to celebrate the work they’ve done.”

The money raised by the group comes from a variety of sources including patients, funeral donations and bequests in wills, supportive events held in the town and funds raised in the shop in the hospital which is manned by volunteers and provides essential everyday items for the hospital’s patients.