Hat’s amazing! Flood of knitted baby hats donated to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness following viral social media appeal; the 1600 hats came from across the Highlands and as far afield as Hampshire, Sheffield and London; also messages of support from the USA
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STAFF at Raigmore Hospital have been overwhelmed by the generosity of donors after they issued a plea for knitted hats for newborn babies.
A plea on social media by staff at the Inverness hospital’s labour suite went viral, with more than 1600 hats to keep newborns cosy handed in so far.
And it is not just locals who responded in droves either.
Staff midwife Mairi MacKenzie said: “We really want to thank everyone for their generosity.
“We had contributions mostly from the local community, but people also sent us donations from Hampshire, Sheffield and London.
“We have also received support messages from the USA.
“When I first shared the pattern for the knitted hats that charge midwife Kath Freeman has kindly provided to encourage donation I wasn’t expecting it to have such a wide reach — in the first five hours it had already reached 500 views and it really took off in the first 24 hours.
“We have been overwhelmed by the response to the call and are now fully stocked.
“It has been so lovely to see all the gorgeous donations coming in and I have been delighted to meet many of the very kind ladies and gentlemen who bring them.
“Unfortunately on busier days we didn’t have a lot of time to speak to people who came in to make the donation, but we have met so many lovely people.”
While Raigmore has all it needs for the moment Mrs MacKenzie urged keen Inverness knitters wanting to do their bit not to put their needles down just yet.
Asking them to consider other hospitals she said: “Labour wards far and wide rely heavily on knitted hats donated from the public to keep our babies cosy after delivery
“Parents are also very grateful for the kindness and time given to providing their babies with these beautiful and practical first gifts.”
