MORE than £25,000 has been raised to buy vitally important equipment for patients at Poole Hospital.

Donations to Poole Hospital Charity's annual Elf Service initiative topped £26,600, but a further £3,500 is still expected.

The money raised went towards towards purchasing life-changing equipment to enhance patient treatment, including child resuscitating training dolls to give parents extra skills for a child with a life-limiting condition, and immobilisation breast boards to help cancer patients receive more effective radiotherapy treatment.

In addition, the charity has bought newborn baby warming cots to keep poorly babies warm without the barriers of an incubator and a movement therapy rehabilitation bike to aid recovery for physiotherapy patients.

A number of festive events took place to collect the cash, such as an Elf Dash which saw more than 200 people jog around Poole Park before meeting Father Christmas; a quiz night; Poole Elf Day and a Christmas carol service.

Charity fundraising manager Sara Fripp said: "Our thanks to everyone who’s supported this year’s campaign. It’s fantastic news that we’ve hit our target which will enable us to buy the four really important items on our Christmas list.”

Donations are still being accepted for the appeal. Contact fundraising@poole.nhs.uk, visit poolehospitalcharity.co.uk or call 01202 448449 for more information.