Biggest Ever Appeal Launch – £5,000,000!
It’s an important milestone for Lingen Davies – as we launch our biggest appeal to date, and make a slight tweak to our name!
The £5million Sunflower Appeal launched last night at a celebratory event at Telford Football Club. We told the assembled guests including the charity’s President Lady Jane Heber-Percy, patrons, trustees, Shaun Davies MP for Telford, local town councillors, representatives from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, volunteers, fundraisers and more – about the new four-year appeal that will deliver cancer services into Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.
The new Lingen Davies Cancer Centre in Telford will deliver all additional services to those already running in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, and nothing will be moving from RSH to PRH.
The dedicated new facility will provide for outpatients clinics, up to 30 chemotherapy bays, a Lung Diagnostic Centre, and Urology Investigations Unit. Intended to open in 2029, the new Cancer Centre will DOUBLE THE PROVISION OF CHEMOTHERAPY ACROSS OUR REGION – meaning those living in or around Telford will be able to access care closer to home. And those living elsewhere across the county and Mid Wales will be able to access care at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital quicker and easier.
Developed in collaboration with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust the new Cancer Centre forms part of the wider Hospitals Transformation Project.
Currently 37% of patients accessing care in the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre have a TF postcode. Offering services that are closer to home for them, and freeing up capacity for others in RSH, will reduce stress and associated worry about lengthy wait times
Guests at last night’s dinner were also told about the new name change – from Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, to Lingen Davies Cancer Support. The charity has greatly expanded and diversified its work in recent years, and this change is intended to reflect this, while still recognising the organisation’s original roots.
Naomi Atkin, CEO of Lingen Davies Cancer Support, said: “Combined with the existing chemotherapy services at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, we will now be providing up to 60 bays for patients across the two hospital sites, that is doubling our capacity which is a vital step as we look to the future.
“This means patients across our entire region can access the treatment they need, where they need, quicker. More people will be able to access chemotherapy treatment when they need it, reducing waiting times and associated stress and worry, and helping contribute to improved outcomes.
“This is a very important development for the region and one we are proud to be supporting. We have a series of events planned for our community to learn more about the project, and for those in our region who may not yet know about the work Lingen Davies undertakes, to find out more about us. See our website for full details about how you can get involved,” she added.
Tim Cooper, Chair of Lingen Davies Trustees, said: “The Sunflower Appeal is our biggest appeal to date, and certainly an ambitious one. We have set ourselves this four-year target and are fully committed to raising £5million to increase the capacity for cancer treatment and services. More people are being diagnosed with cancer, and thanks to earlier diagnosis, cancer prevention work, and better treatment options, more people are living with and beyond cancer. They all need our support.
“We know that wait time and travel costs and times can cause a great deal of anxiety for patients and their families, who understandably want to be seen and be treated as quickly as possible. This project will reduce some of that anxiety and enable care to take place quicker.
“As a team, we will be working hard working with major donors, corporate sponsors, and volunteers to help us reach this target and make a tangible difference to the lives of those impacted by cancer and their families. Please do reach out if you can spare time to support us or have any fundraising ideas and our team will be on hand to support you,” he added.
