Friends of Royston and District Healthcare has donated a whopping £70,000 to help in the coronavirus pandemic.

The group awards grants to local charities and organisations involved in improving healthcare in the area.

They have given £10,000 to each of the Royston and Melbourn surgeries to assist with the provision of personal protective equipment for surgery staff and the community health teams.

They also responded to the television appeal for equipment for Cambs-based air ambulance charity MAGPAS staff with a donation of £5,700, and provided emergency funding of £25,000 for family support charity Home-Start Royston, Buntingford and South Cambridgeshire.

The money will explore new ways to support their vulnerable families by other means now that face-to-face delivery of their service is no longer possible.

The Friends were originally formed to support Royston Hospital, which they still do and are still fighting for its restitution as a health hub for the town.

However, they changed their name and constitution to Friends of Royston and District Healthcare in order to be able to support more people in the community with healthcare issues not being addressed by the state.

This change has made it possible for them to make the substantial awards during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A spokesman said: “Many of the population would like to contribute to the wellbeing of our community but don’t know how.

“We as a group have demonstrated that we are able to react very quickly to applicants needs but obviously that in term depletes our funds quite rapidly so we need to find a way to replenish our reserves in order for us to continue to provide support.

“If you want to help with financial support you can log on to the Charities Aid Foundation website at www.cafonline.org/system/charity-search-results which takes you to the page to search for charities, where you will find the Friends. If you donation is £20 or more you will be enrolled as a ‘friend’.

If you or any one you know is of need of healthcare-related support at this time, email the group at frdhealthcare@yahoo.com and request an application form.