About this site

This site is run by Dr’s Richard and Jo Newell - two General Practitioners living in Yorkshire, England.

We spent a year working as volunteers at St. Francis’ Hospital in 2003/4. During our time there we started to formulate plans for a hospital website, with the hope that it could...

• publicise the work of the hospital
• help to recruit new volunteers
• celebrate fund-raising activities
• assist donations of equipment and funds
• keep fund-raisers and volunteers in touch with the hospital - and each other
• provide information for medical students planning electives

We are in regular contact with Shelagh & Ian Parkinson who run St. Francis, as well as James & Faith Cairns who co-ordinate support for the hospital from the U.K. We are also forming links with the support group in the Netherlands.

Overall, we want to bring everybody (and that includes you!) with an interest in the hospital together, so we can share our interest and co-ordinate our support.

Contributions to the website are always welcome: if you have worked or studied at St. Francis’, helped to raise funds or donated yourself, we want to hear from you. Your comments, suggestions, stories and experiences, pictures and photos, anything! Just e-mail me at