A GROUP of benefactors providing financial support to Kidderminster Hospital donated £38,000 for the purchase of medical equipment and other purposes over the past year.

The annual report and accounts of the League of Friends of the Kidderminster Hospitals showed that, to the year ending September 2004, the organisation had a fund balance of £563,944.

The figure - up from £546,238 the year before - was boosted by £11,617 in legacies and £26,002 from outlets such as the group's coffee shop and tea bar.

In his forward to the report, friends' chairman, David Wase, said the group had tried to support a wide range of services.

He explained that the league, in March, 1997, launched its appeal for funds to establish a specialised unit for the treatment of cancer, adding "... to date, a magnificent earmarked sum in excess of £399,000 has been raised from the local community".

Bob Whittington, the groups' treasurer, in his report, said "... it is good to show an increase in resources at the year end ...".

That had been due to donations, legacies, investment income and trading profits. Although the league had been able to support specialist areas in the hospital, members were seeking a clearer picture of how best to use the "substantial resources" available to them.

He estimated that, since the league began operating in 1982, its coffee shop had generated over £300,000 in total.

Mr Wase sounded a note of caution over the future of the league, saying its future role at the hospital was uncertain, although discussions were ongoing with Worcestershire NHS Acute Hospitals Trust.

The league had also lost its administrator, another situation the group was attempting to resolve.

The annual report and accounts will be presented at the league's annual meeting in the Education Centre at the Treatment Centre, Kidderminster Hospital on Friday, June 24, starting at 8pm.