X Factor star and TV personality Stacey Solomon has visited patients and staff at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, after donating £17,000 to the hospital’s charity.

X Factor star and TV personality Stacey Solomon has visited patients and staff at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, after donating £17,000 to the hospital’s charity.

The Dagenham-born singer spoke to staff from the hospital’s haemoglobinopathy team and their patients, who will benefit from her donation.

“I love coming here and am glad to be able to help. Queen’s is my local hospital so I’m really proud to donate and give something back to the community,” she said.

Stacey has a personal connection to the unit as well – her sister Jemma is a paediatric nurse on the haemoglobinopathy team, which helps people with hereditary conditions affecting their red blood cells, such as sickle cell anaemia.

Among the patients she met was Tumelo Sibanda, 13, of Harold Hill. She also spoke to Mary Ayinde, 27, of Romford, and found out that she had been at college with one of Mary’s close friends.

Stacey raised the money by competing on a celebrity edition of the ITV quiz show The Chase in October.

The funds are being spent on a range of initiatives to improve service for patients, including laptops to help keep them entertained during treatment, additional training for staff and a machine for checking patients’ blood before treatment.