Sisters have set up their own charity to collect much-needed provisions for elderly patients spending their final days in hospital.

Following the death of their mother last year, the three ladies decided to fill their spare time by organising ways to provide resources for Medway Maritime Hospital, and in particular for those patients on the orthopaedic ward.

Jane Foster, from Gillingham, said they chose to help the orthopaedic ward as they had heard it often misses out when there is an allocation of funding.

"It tends to go to the children and babies." she said. "It can get quite disheartening and morale can be quite low. We wanted to do something to give them a lift."

Calling themselves the "Friends of Pembroke Ward" the ladies have set up a Facebook page of the same name, which has already amassed more than 200 members, and created a wish list on Amazon for those who are interested in donating.

Jane, 61, asks her daughter-in-law Clare, who works as a clinical support worker at the hospital, for a list of items needed and then she and her sisters do their best to provide it.

"She tells me if they are short of toiletries or games and we put out an appeal on our social media page or just go and buy it ourselves," Jane added.

Since starting their scheme around Christmas time, the ladies have handed over donations including plastic storage boxes, drawers, portable video players, toiletries, jigsaws, sewing kits and playing cards.

The sisters, who are all retired, get no benefit from their project other than knowing those less fortunate than them are having a happier day thanks to their efforts.

Yve Pratt, 73, from Wigmore said: "It's good to be able to donate activities that will give the patients something to do when they can't get out of bed and they are just sitting there."

Jane added: "It needs to be things they can wipe down to keep them clean and hygienic.

"Anything that can make their time there a bit more comfortable. It might be a little thing for us to provide but it can make a big difference to someone's day."

The specific ward they are keen to help has 27 patients, who are divided into bays of four and they are looking to equip each bay with a specialist dementia clock, which retails at £40.

Yve said: "We have one but we need four, so they can all see one."

The sisters have been running raffles and cake bakes to raise money to buy resources and have registered themselves as a charity so they can have access to a cheap suppliers to purchase goods.

They say the most rewarding item they have donated so far is dolls for the dementia patients.

Jane said: "My daughter-in-law said she saw one of the ladies laying on her bed holding the doll's hand. She looked really happy and proud of her baby."

The sisters are always met with gratitude when they drop off a donation.

"We tend to leave them with a different person each time," Jane said. "The last time we went the lady receiving them got quite emotional."

They have also placed donation boxes in the staff rooms of various willing friends' workplaces, including ScrewFix, in Gillingham Business Park.

Their next plan is to encourage chemists to have a box, in the hope customers might purchase some extra toiletries to donate while they are paying for their goods.

Eldest sibling Jen Cox lives in Rainham and worked for 16 years at the hospital. She has been spending her spare time crochetting twiddle muffs and cuddle cushions for the patients to fiddle. These are knitted blankets which they can stroke and fiddle with and which provide comfort for the patients.

Jen, 75, said: "I follow a pattern and add buttons and things that would be nice to play with. But they have to go through a safety check when we take them in. The buttons have to be big and they have to be secured tightly in case the patients can snap them off and put them in their mouths.

"It stops them pulling at their feeding tubes."

Anyone who wants to donate can log onto the Amazon wishlist or join the Friends of Pembroke Ward Facebook page.

A spokesman for the hospital said they are "incredibly thankful" to the women, adding: "Their kindness assists the work of the Medway Hospital Charity which is dedicated to supporting the patients and staff at Medway Maritime Hospital, providing the little extras that make such a difference.’’