A SPECIALIST hospital with a ‘family’ atmosphere celebrated the golden jubilee of the group which raises thousands of pounds each year and provides vital services for patients and their families.

The Friends of Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Brockley Hill, Stanmore, celebrated 50 years of service on Tuesday with a visit from the group’s patron, The Duke of Gloucester.

The duke paid tribute to the volunteers who run the RNOH Friends Shop, the help desk in the outpatients department and, through fundraising have enabled major projects including the patients’ centre, the swimming pool and part funding of the Graham Hill Unit.

Loelia Harris has been a friends member for 40 years and is company secretary on the board of trustees.

Like many of the volunteers, she has a personal interest in the hospital, as she has been a patient there, as were her three daughters and her granddaughter.

The 83-year-old, who lives in Stanmore, told the Observer: “It is a very tight hospital, very caring. Everybody helps everybody and it is like a family. I have done a bit of work with the friends over the years, but I can honestly say I have taken out more than I have put in, and that is really true.

“We do lots of fundraising so we can provide the things that the hospital needs.”

The duke told the audience: “As you see, the friends of any hospital are very, very important, particularly in this hospital, where the fabric of the place has not been in very good condition.

“We really benefit from the friends. Without the friends, this hospital would not have been in a position to continue with the highest possible clinical care that it has done.”

The hospital, which provides specialist orthopaedic and musculo-skeletal care, is in the process of undergoing a £98million rebuild.

The redevelopment will see the demolition and replacement of its dilapidated buildings with a new outpatients’ department, a spinal cord injury centre, a special accommodation unit for parents, a rehabilitation centre and an 805-space multi-storey car park.

Friends members welcome the redevelopment of the hospital, including Mrs Harris. “They do such wonderful work here and they have had such appalling buildings, so it is fantastic,” she said.