Banbury bus company provides a step-back-in-time 'dementia bus stop' in the Horton General Hospital

The partnership will see Stagecoach staff working at Banbury Oxford and Witney depots undertake a range of fundraising activities throughout the year for fellow keyworkers at the local charity and the patients and families the charity supports.

Planned activity includes driver dress-up days, cake sales and sponsored sporting events.

Stagecoach’s fundraising efforts will contribute towards specialist medical equipment and features to improve patient well-being as well as providing the very best training and support to staff working across the four Oxfordshire hospitals.

To kick start the partnership, Stagecoach has donated a Dementia Bus Stop to the Horton General Hospital. The Dementia Bus Stop will be placed in a new reminiscence room in the hospital which is being designed to offer a safe and quiet space for dementia patients who can become anxious when in unfamiliar environments.

The reminiscence room will feature a host of objects that will be familiar to patients and help to relax and reassure them. Alongside the bus stop, where patients will be able to sit and relax in recognisable surroundings, the room will include pictures of Banbury from many years ago, dementia-friendly games, an old-fashioned radio, a television playing black and white films and a large aquarium full of tropical fish.

Emily Waddell, Community Fundraising Manager at Oxford Hospitals Charity, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been selected as the Stagecoach Charity Partner. We truly admire their passion, company ethos, enthusiasm and commitment towards charitable giving and we can’t wait to get started on working together on some incredible projects.

"It makes it all the more special knowing we have been chosen by their own key workers to help support our own key workers across all of our hospitals, as well as our patients.”

Karen Coventry, Commercial Director at Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, said: “We are proud to be supporting Oxford Hospitals Charity for the next year. Supporting local charities is something we hold close to our hearts at Stagecoach in Oxfordshire and after a tough year, the drivers and staff throughout our Oxfordshire network wanted to support a charity which has given so much to the community.

"The Dementia Bus Stop is the first step in our support for Oxford Hospitals Charity, and we look forward to a year of fundraising, by keyworkers, for keyworkers.”

Oxford Hospitals Charity makes a difference to the wards and departments across the Horton, the John Radcliffe, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.