A TEAM of staff from East Linton Surgery have put their best foot forward to raise £2,000.

The team from the surgery took part in the recent Kiltwalk in Edinburgh and are donating the money they raised to the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS).

RVS volunteer drivers Jim Winning, Tom Dean, David George, Margaret Brown and Mark Le May recently visited the surgery with balloons and cakes to say thank you.

Holly Newell, practice manager, said: “We decided to do the Kiltwalk firstly as a team-building exercise.

“We had done a small sponsored walk in February last year to raise money for a new ECG machine for the surgery and had an overwhelming response from our patients. The Kiltwalk seemed like a good challenge for us to try next.

“All team members apart from two were able to take part. Our team was made up of the three GPs – Dr McIntosh, Dr de Burgh and Dr Thompson – our treatment room nurse Fiona Archibald, myself and three of our receptionists: Amy Divers, Laura Richardson and Pam Thomson.

“We decided that we wanted to give the money to a charity that benefits our patients and we unanimously voted for the Royal Voluntary Service. We have a high population of elderly patients in East Linton and many of our regular patients need the help and assistance of the RVS volunteers. We feel this makes a huge difference to their lives, as they would otherwise be housebound and this allows them to get out and about and have some human interaction.

“We were yet again overwhelmed by the generosity of our patients and also our own family and friends.

“We all managed to complete the 15.5 miles in the wind and sometimes rain and all felt very proud crossing the finish line as a team.

“We raised £1,481.86, which will be boosted by the Kiltwalk by another 40 per cent to £2,074.60 plus any gift aid, which is fantastic. We will be excited to hear how this money will be spent.”

RVS volunteer drivers in East Lothian help older people get to various appointments, including visiting East Linton Surgery. The service currently has about 50 volunteer drivers.

Polly Cooke, service manager, said: “These are really vital services for older people in the community.

“Taking someone out to an appointment and spending time in the car having a chat may not seem like much but it makes a massive difference to the people who use the service.

“Our volunteers are fantastic and they really enjoy what they do; they get as much out of volunteering as they give.”

Anyone wishing to volunteer can get in touch on 01875 811 011, by emailing eastlothian@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk or by visiting royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk