Airedale Hospital’s dignity room has been given more than 200 pairs of socks on the eve of national dignity action day.

The donation comes from Craven Masonic Lodge who used their Christmas party to invite members and their guests to fill large Santa sacks with pairs of socks – collecting 243 pairs in total. In addition, a raffle raised £250 which has also been donated to the hospital to enhance its work for patients with dementia.

Martin Burrows, master of the lodge, said: “We chose to support the privacy and dignity work of staff at Airedale Hospital because the way patients are treated is so very important. I sincerely hope that the donations will go some way to support the excellent work that the staff are doing.

“Both myself and my wife, who works at the hospital, have a passion for supporting older people, particularly those with dementia, which is why I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity.”

Treating patients with privacy and dignity is one of the hospital’s top priorities and it has taken steps to make sure all patients are treated appropriately, for example, only providing same-sex accommodation on all its wards and creating a designated dignity room which has essential items if people are unexpectedly admitted into hospital.

Fiona Throp, senior nurse for older people, at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “These socks are a great boost to our dignity room and donations like this one, from the Craven Masonic Lodge, will go a long way to making sure our dignity room is sustained.”