A dedicated fundraiser has been thanked by the medical team he supports.

Ray Ballard, of Minster Road, Halfway, has collected £1,500 over the years in support of the community cardiology staff at Medway Maritime Hospital.

The 61-year-old started fundraising as staff there cared for his father Peter until he passed away aged 82 in 2010 from heart failure.

He was visited at home by the nurses who helped control his symptoms.

With the cash, the hospital has been able to buy six handheld electrocardiagram (ECG) machines which are used to read patients’ pulses and for other checks when doing home visits.

To raise the money, Mr Ballard has organised a number of tribute and cabaret shows, and he also sells DVDs of the events.

Heart failure specialist nurse Pauline Rouse said: “We are really grateful to Ray for all of his fundraising efforts.

“The benefit of using the hand-held ECG machine in addition to our regular checks is that it gives us further details about a patient’s heart.

“This means when the clinician detects an abnormality they can see more information about the patient’s condition.

“If necessary, they will then have further investigations to gain as much information as possible about their condition.”

Mr Ballard said: “Dad lived with heart failure for 15 years, which was longer than we expected, and he made the most of that time, always keeping a smile on his face.

“I was impressed with the care my dad received so I fundraise to say thank you to the team who cared so wonderfully for him.

“Knowing that these hand-held ECG machines will help the team to do their job as well as give patients some peace of mind by giving them information quickly is brilliant.”

• The next fundraiser is Ray Ballard and Friends on Thursday, February 21. It will take place at the Blue Town Heritage Centre from 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10 per person and are available from Mr Ballard on 07747 086421 or the centre on 01795 662981.