Mystery donors, who previously gifted £500,000 to support patients and healthcare staff in Fife during the COVID-19 pandemic, have made a further incredible donation of £250,000.

The benefactors, who wish to remain anonymous, were so pleased with the creativity used to spend their initial contribution to the Fife Health Charity that they wanted to donate again!

The previous donation has been used to purchase more than 100 tablet computers to enable patients to video call loved ones whilst visiting restrictions remain in place and build an outdoor gym for staff and patients at Lynebank Hospital in Dunfermline.

Toiletries, magazines, radios and TVs for ward areas, and portable translation devices for patients not fluent in English, have also been funded.

A further £100,000 from the original donation is also to be used to fund half of the £200,000 cost of establishing a permanent wellbeing hub for healthcare staff at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

In addition, £10,000 was allocated to Maggie’s Centre Kirkcaldy and £5,000 to Blood Bikes Scotland, to acknowledge their invaluable support to NHS Fife during the early stages of the pandemic.

Announcements will be made in the coming weeks once plans have been developed on specifically how the extra £250,000 is to be used.

The Fife Health Charity, which was previously known as the Fife Health Board Endowment Fund, supports a range of initiatives to benefit the patients, carers and staff of NHS Fife, but is separate from the health board.

Rt Hon Tricia Marwick, who is the chair of the Fife Health Charity’s Board of Trustees in addition to her role as chair of Fife Health Board, said of the donation: "This is a quite extraordinary act of kindness and we are genuinely blown away by the generosity shown yet again.

"The earlier donation of £500,000 has funded a wide range of initiatives and has been invaluable in helping us provide some of the home comforts that have made patients’ stay in hospital more bearable whilst visiting restrictions have been in place.

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I wanted to offer our most sincere thank you for the donation. We will ensure that the gift is used wisely to provide the maximum benefit for both patients and staff here in Fife."