IN a bid to make it easier for members of the public and local businesses to donate to the region's hospitals, Northern Care Alliance (NCA) NHS Group has helped set up a number of dedicated drop off points.

The sites at Royal Oldham Hospital, Fairfield Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and Salford Royal will enable the hospitals to receive and distribute donations more effectively.

For individuals and businesses wanting to make a financial contribution, details of how to donate can be found on the Pennine Acute Hospital website and the Salford Royal Hospital website.

A spokesperson for NCA said: "Cash donations are currently being prioritised for Covid19 requirements, however if individuals would prefer to dedicate their cash contribution to a separate appeal or fund this is also possible by contacting the Fundraising team at either charity@pat.nhs.uk for Pennine Acute, or charity@srft.nhs.uk for Salford Royal.

Details of the drop off points are:

Royal Oldham Hospital

Location: Swan Bereavement Centre, Royal Oldham Hospital,

Contact: Amanda Nicholls

Email: OldhamSilver@pat.nhs.uk

Bury Fairfield

Location: Elms Room, Broad Oak Suite

Contact: Rachael Graham

Email: Rachael.graham@pat.nhs.uk

Rochdale Infirmary

Location: Quarry Street Entrance (Outpatients Entrance), Block 10, Level ‘C’ (Jefferson Corridor), Room C2220 (Old Kitchens)

Contact: Denise Scoular, Jamie Kennedy or Annette Walsh

Email: RochdaleSilver@pat.nhs.uk

Phone: 01706 517167

Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust

Location: Pathology Seminar Room 2, Ground Floor, Mayo Building,

Weekdays – 8am – 3.30pm

Weekends – 9.30am – 1pm

Contact: Wendy Hanbridge

Email: Wendy.Hanbridge@srft.nhs.uk

Personal Protective Equipment Donations

All PPE donations are being collated and distributed across Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust from the Resilience Centre at Royal Oldham Hospital.

If you have a donation of PPE you would like to make please drop at the Resilience Centre, Westhulme Street, Oldham, OL1 2PN.

Donations should be dropped off between 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday.

Our guidelines around accepting PPE are the same as the national guidelines issued by NHSE, and state that PPE should:

identify the manufacturer,

where available, identify the CE number

if the item is imported, any instructions/information to be in English language

make it clear what type of mask / what standard of protection the equipment offers,

include the ingredients for items such as hand sanitizer

identify whether the equipment is sterile,

clarify any lead times and the volumes that are being offered.

advise on suitable decontamination arrangements if the item is re-usable PPE

state the expiry date of the item