HRH the Duchess of Gloucester visited the Isle of Wight on Wednesday (19) to undertake a series of duties.
First, the Duchess officially opened a new £1m Ambulance Station at St Mary’s Hospital in Newport — home to the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service.
Her Royal Highness, accompanied by HM Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, Mrs Susie Sheldon, was welcomed by IW NHS Trust Chief Executive, Darren Cattell and Director of Operations for the IW Ambulance Service, Victoria White.
HRH was shown around the new facilities and met with members of the IW Ambulance Service before unveiling a plaque to declare the station officially open.
Darren Cattell, Chief Executive said:
“We are honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness to our Ambulance Service to open this fantastic new facility and to meet some of our Ambulance staff.
"The new station and all the improvements that have been made will make such a difference to our people and our service.
"This will ensure our ambulance service is resilient for the future to continue providing a high-quality urgent and emergency service to our Island community.”
The new Ambulance Station is modern and spacious and has been designed in partnership with the Ambulance Service to ensure it meets the needs of staff and volunteers.
During her visit, the Duchess of Gloucester also visited Newport's Home-Start to meet volunteers and staff from the Island charity.
(c) Harriet Hadfield /HRH at Home-Start IOW
The Duchess of Gloucester spoke of her huge admiration for the volunteers and the charity's ongoing efforts to help families with young children.
She was accompanied on her visit by Deputy Lieutenant Kate Collins and introduced on arrival to the charity’s patron Judi Griffin, from Briddlesford Farm; Karen Rivlin, Chair of Trustees; and Alison Griffiths, Home-Start IOW Manager.
HRH also highlighted that the bank holiday Monday of the King’s Coronation weekend is ‘Volunteer Day’, demonstrating royal recognition of the importance of volunteers.
After a tour of the charity’s Newport office, The Duchess of Gloucester sat down for a roundtable discussion with staff, trustees and volunteers.
Karen Rivlin, Chair of Trustees, Home-Start IOW says:
“It was a real honour to welcome The Duchess of Gloucester to Home-Start Isle of Wight today.
"It means so much to all of the team that she was able to take the time during her Island visit to meet with us and find out more about what we do.”
“We really hope her visit will encourage more people to volunteer with us and highlight the charity to the many families in need of help on the Island.”
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