More than one way to give, this Christmas

Generous gift-givers from Oxfordshire and beyond donate thousands of presents and toys to young patients at the Oxford Children's Hospital and Horton General Hospital Children's Ward every Christmas.

These lovely contributions and visits help make the festive season more pleasant for our young patients, creating a lovely seasonal atmosphere for all those having to spend some of the Christmas period in hospital.

The Trust is very grateful for all offers of gifts and visits. However, we are mindful that these clinical areas can become very busy at this time of year.

We therefore request that any groups or individuals who wish to distribute gifts organise this in advance with Erica Watson (erica.watson@ouh.nhs.uk), our Lead Play Specialist, before Friday 16 November.

We have already had lots of kind offers, and we are unlikely to be able to accommodate every request to visit or donate.

We would also encourage people to consider supporting other areas in our hospitals as well, such as wards looking after older patients across the John Radcliffe Hospital, Horton General Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

For safety reasons, we cannot accept nearly-new or second-hand gifts, so please make sure donations are new. Gifts also need to be unwrapped so that we can make sure they are appropriate for specific patients.

You can also donate to Oxford Hospitals Charity. Your contributions allow the charity to fund both exciting toys and games as well as improving hospital areas for patients and funding the very latest medical equipment.

Please visit www.hospitalcharity.co.uk/christmasgifts to find out more.

Thank you so much for your support.