Elderly patients at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital celebrated Father's Day early this year with a luncheon held yesterday.

The third annual Father's Day luncheon organised by events coordinator Capri Smith was attended by over 20 fathers, both in-patient and out-patient, as well as Health Minister Nelson Bascome.

Mr. Bascome lead the patients in a prayer, before telling jokes to the crowd.

"I told them to laugh before I went up," Mr. Bascome joked.

Not long after the group began to eat, Mr. Bascome was named father of the year by the staff and patients. Kevin Burke, who turned 75 on Wednesday, presented Mr. Bascome with a gift.

"The Government do a great job for us," said Mr. Burke.

Chief operating officer of the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute and Continuing Care Patricia Dill called the event "beautiful."

"We try to make sure that life goes on for them," said Ms Dill.

"I think it's very impressive that the staff has taken the time to organise this," said Mr. Bascome, who was attending the event for the first time.