Sue channels her passion to raise £11,000

A former nurse with a passion for improving dementia care has raised more than £11,000 to benefit patients with the condition.

Sue Threadingham began fundraising for East Kent Hospitals Charity’s dementia appeal in 2016, after her mother died with dementia, and has raised thousands by selling home-made jams, chutneys, produce and crafts from a stall outside her house in Sellindge, near Ashford.

She also visits fairs and events across Kent with her items, which often prove so popular they sell out.

Sue and her husband Dave visited the William Harvey Hospital, where she worked as a sister in theatre recovery before retiring, and where her daughter still works, to hand over their latest donation and meet the dementia team to find out more about how the money has been used.

Sue, 75, said: “I have worked for the NHS my whole career and I know the best way to change and improve things is to be proactive and so I decided to do just that and fundraise to help make improvements possible.

“Joy McCue, who was the dementia matron, and her successor Jade Garlick, have been very welcoming and receptive and I have also been able to help with training for staff using my clinical and personal experience.

“We are very grateful to Joy for the wonderful care and support we received during and after my mother’s stays in hospital.

“I have Long Covid, so being in the kitchen making my jams and chutneys has been a lifesaver because I’m not the sort of person who can sit around and do nothing.”

Sue uses traditional recipes from the 1940s for most of her range, but will experiment and is happy to take requests.

She said: “I will have a go at everything, and people often give me fruit or vegetables so I can turn them into something to sell.

“I was given four buckets of green tomatoes last autumn, which made 54 jars of chutney – they were all sold and proved very popular.”

Sue thanked her friends Sue, Reg and Becky for their help and support with her fundraising.

Dee Neligan, head of East Kent Hospitals Charity, said: “Sue has been a tireless and passionate fundraiser and is a true inspiration to us all.

“It was lovely to be able to show her the impact her fundraising has had for our patients, from improving the ward environments to buying items to help distract or comfort people living with dementia.

“Sue’s experience as a nurse and as a relative is invaluable and we are very grateful to her for everything she has done.”

You can find Sue and her products at the Lord Whisky Animal Sanctuary fair on Saturday, September 7.

For more information about East Kent Hospitals Charity and how you can support them, visit https://www.ekhcharity.org.uk/