PI Lawyer raising funds for new Cancer Centre at Lister Hospital
An industrial disease personal injury lawyer is taking part in a sponsored ride to Paris to raise funds for the Lister Hospital.
An industrial disease personal injury lawyer is taking part in a sponsored ride to Paris to raise funds for the Lister Hospital.
The oversubscribed facilities at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage currently do not always allow their outstanding staff to treat everyone, with some patients having to travel to another of the Trust’s hospitals for their treatment. The unit needs to be completely redesigned and rebuilt to give the staff a chance to meet the challenges of maintaining a complex and high quality service, now and for the future.
There are over 10,000 people living with cancer in the core geographic area served by the Lister hospital and over 1,500 continue to be diagnosed every year.
There were 3,327 diagnoses made during 2011/12 alone across the whole of the East & North Herts NHS Trust (which covers 4 hospitals), which is a 42% increase from the 2009/10 data.
On average, the Lister Hospital sees approx 220 chemo patients per week and 11,000 per year. There are a variety of figures used to represent the growth of cancer demand in the local area. 6% is the generally accepted mid-point statistic from the National Chemotherapy Advisory Group (NCAG).
For oncology and haematology outpatients, data for 2012/13 suggests that demand has increased between 10% to 25% monthly. The new centre will be set up so that it can respond to this demand.
This build links in with the larger Survivorship Programme worked on by Macmillan and the East & North Herts NHS Trust. There are plans for the future to further integrate cancer services in the East & North Herts area.
A turf cutting ceremony was held on the 9th October 2013 to mark start of work on the Lister Macmillan Cancer Centre, with the building complete and official opening planned for approximately April 2014.
The new centre would:
• Allow 18 patients to receive chemotherapy treatment at once, doubling the amount of space currently available to the 220 patients treated at the Lister each week.
• Provide two restful and soothing gardens for people with cancer and their families. Well designed gardens have been proven to improve patients’ response to treatment, and provide a welcome environment for accompanying family and friends.
• Offer clear areas where people can discuss sensitive information about their diagnosis and treatment with clinical and nursing staff, as well as clear access to the excellent Macmillan Information and Support and Welfare Benefits advisors.
How will my donation make a difference?
The centre at the Lister will mean that no one accessing chemotherapy and outpatient treatment in this local area will have to go through cancer alone. But we can’t do it without your support. The total cost for developing the Lister Macmillan Cancer Centre is £2.9m. We need to raise £1.5m to make sure we meet the quality standards we expect for this, as with every, new cancer facility where we have the chance to be involved.
Who is a Fundraising Volunteer for Macmillan North Herts has already signed up to do one of Europe’s iconic bike rides in order to raise funds for the new centre.
The London to Paris Cycling Challenge covers more than 480k in just four days and take on long days in the saddle and some strenuous hill-climbs. But the sight of the Eiffel Tower, our finishing point, will evoke a sense of achievement that you can’t beat.
There is a minimum sponsorship required of £1,600 (not including Gift Aid). At least 64% of the £1,600 minimum sponsorship will be treated as a donation to Macmillan. If you raise over £1,600 everything else comes to Macmillan. £1,600 could enable Macmillan to fund nurse for a week and a half.
But any amount would help Macmillan to improve the lives of local people with cancer. We would ask you to support his challenge, both in cycling to Paris and hopefully, in smashing the minimum sponsorship target required of £1,600.00.
