STAFF at the Royal Berkshire Hospital are sitting pretty, thanks to a donation of some modern bench desks.
An anonymous donor supplied the office staples, and was linked up with the health centre thanks to some matchmaking by Connect Reading, a charity that brings sectors together for mutual benefit.
Active Workplace Solutions, one of Connect Reading’s business members, helped bring the desks from the benefactor to the Royal Berkshire NHS Healthcare Trust, and they have been gratefully received.
“We are delighted with the donation of new desks which we have been able to make use of at our London Road offices at Princes House, which houses many of our non-clinical teams,” said Alison Foster, Programme Director of Building Berkshire Together, the new hospital programme for RBH.
“Their introduction has not only saved them from going to landfill but has meant we have been able to make better use of the space, which has aided hybrid working and taken some administration teams out of poor accommodation.”
The buildings at the Royal Berkshire Hospital site are currently under review as the Trust is on the Government’s New Hospital Programme. Building Berkshire Together, is looking at future options for redevelopment on- and off-site. A key part of the programme is reducing the resource use to enable a more sustainable operation, and reducing climate change impact as part of a wider NHS programme to become NetZero.
Opportunities to reuse equipment and furniture is just one of the ways Connect Reading helps its members reduce their own carbon footprint.
Its CEO, Lorraine Briffitt, said: “We are always looking for innovative ways that help our members achieve their environmental, social and governance goals for the benefit of our local community.
“Our Resource Exchange connects unused resources to need, significantly reducing waste and alleviating financial pressure on charities and frontline public services.
“Last year we made more than 4,000 connections between organisations in Reading, brokering nearly £120,000 in resources between sectors.
“We love seeing how this introduction has benefited our friends at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.”
