Glastonbury Festival's medical charity 'impresses' Somerset VIPs

THE Somerton-based charity behind Glastonbury Festival's medical services "impressed" several notable visitors who enjoyed a tour of its facilities over the weekend.

Festival Medical Services (FMS) offered tours of its mobile facilities, available to patients at Glastonbury Festival, to visitors including Professor Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency.

Annie Maw, patron of FMS and the former Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, led a tour group of Somerset VIP visitors —who wished to show their gratitude for FMS’s honourable work — around the charity's Glastonbury site over the weekend.

These visitors included the new Dean of Wells Cathedral, Somerset’s High Sheriff, and members of the Local Government and the NHS.

But perhaps the most notable visit was from the chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency: Professor Dame Jenny Harries.

These visits allow FMS to present their huge range of services available at events like Glastonbury, while also enabling them to outline their wider contributions.

Altogether, FMS has raised almost £1.5 million for medical projects in the UK and abroad.

Despite being a charity also reliant upon donations, they donated more than £200,000 to other worthy causes in the past year.

All of the visitors were understandably impressed by their work, with one immediately offering to pay for one of the trauma boxes being sent out to Ukraine by FMS.

The charity was founded at Glastonbury in 1979 and is a widely-known and greatly appreciated organisation focussed on treating patients on-site at events to reduce the number of serious incidents.

They offer numerous healthcare services provided by professional volunteers and support staff, minimising the need for patients to be transferred to hospitals.

FMS Patron Annie Maw said: “Since I became patron of Festival Medical Services last year, I have wanted to spread the word about how marvellous and dedicated they are and how much important work they do.

“Of course, everyone who goes to Glastonbury, or any of the other many outdoor events they cover, plans to have a marvellous time and never need to see a doctor or a nurse, but life isn’t always like that.

“And what is so wonderful is to know that if you do fall ill or have an accident, these great people are there to help you and give you an amazing standard of care – the same as you will receive in any hospital or surgery – just in the middle of a field – it’s incredible.”

A huge fundraising event was undergone last month by Mrs Maw herself. As a wheelchair user, she had never summitted the iconic landmark of Glastonbury Tor – a height of 518ft.

Mrs Maw completed this feat of climbing the tor in her wheelchair and has so far raised over £16,000.

These donations are being split between two charities: Motivation and Humanity & Inclusion.

Motivation is an international disability charity based in Bristol that provides wheelchairs, training and support for disabled people in Africa and India to help them gain independence, improve confidence and transform their lives.

Humanity & Inclusion works with disabled people in vulnerable circumstances, often in countries affected by conflict, natural disasters and poverty. This charitable work undertaken by FMS is just a testimony to their true values.

Annie Maw and the whole team at FMS were "hugely thanked" by all the visitors for their dedicated work in helping communities everywhere from local events to people across the other side of the world.