NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Acute Stroke Unit has received a donation of £1,500 from a doctor who is also a former patient - after an online crowdfunder set up as a ‘thank you’ raised more than 10 times its original target.

Kilwinning’s Dr Kirsty MacKay, a Clinical Fellow at University Hospital Crosshouse, was admitted to Ward 3E of the same hospital in January after she suffered a vertebral artery dissection (bleeding within the wall of an artery in the neck) which caused a stroke.

Kirsty explained: “While I was an inpatient, the medical treatment made me physically better but it was the ‘small’ things that the staff did for me that made me feel more human during this scary time.

“Following my thrombolysis treatment, I was not allowed out of bed for 24 hours. Staff washed and dried my hair in a portable, inflatable shower, helped me out of my hospital gown and into my own clothes - this gave me such a boost and made me feel more like myself.”

In order to say thank you for the treatment that she had received, Kirsty set up a Just Giving page with the intention of raising £120.

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This money would have been sufficient for the unit to purchase two more inflatable portable showers and hairdryers for the ward.

Much to Kirsty’s delight, the JustGiving page raised much more than the original £120 target - and she was able to present the unit with a cheque for £1,500.

Kirsty said: “I would like to thank all the staff in the ASU for their care, particularly Sister Christine Somerville and Dr Ghosh for their prompt treatment, allowing me the best chance of recovery.

“I would also like to thank my generous friends, family and colleagues for their donations.”

Ms Somerville, the unit’s senior charge nurse, said: “We are so very grateful to Kirsty and all her friends and family for raising this amazing sum.

“In addition to the portable showers and hairdryers, we are planning to purchase a TV for our relatives' room, portable phones for the ward (for patients who do not have access to a mobile phone, and a variety of mobile phone chargers and board games, small things that can help improve our patients' experiences in the unit.”