AN appeal has been launched to pay for a hospital suite to diagnose and treat people with cancer.
The campaign aims to raise £525,000 for a new, additional endoscopy suite at Burnley General Teaching Hospital.
It would enable around 5,000 extra sessions to be undertaken each year, reducing waiting times, helping diagnose people more quickly and saving lives.
An endoscopy is a camera examination of the stomach and large bowel.
The tests are done at Burnley General Teaching Hospital, Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Rossendale Primary Health Care Centre.
And Burnley-based cancer charity CARES has pledged £25,000 to East Lancashire Hospital Trust’s official charity ELHT&Me to kick start the appeal to pay for the additional suite.
Sharon Froggatt, relationship manager for CARES, said: “We’re delighted to be handing over this large sum to kick start our fundraising campaign and cement our commitment to raising the funds for an additional endoscopy suite.”
“We’ve been overwhelmed with the support and generosity from businesses and individuals to date.
“We’re appealing for people to get behind our cause and help make this life saving extra suite at the hospital a reality”.
The cheque was presented to Kevin McGee, chief Executive of ELHT, who was joined by Burnley MP and Shadow Minister for Health, Julie Cooper, and marks the start of the campaign.
CARES is a charity committed to promoting the early assessment and rapid diagnosis of cancer in the East Lancashire region.
CARES is also targeting workplaces to raise awareness about early symptoms of cancer, arming employers and their staff with the information they need to spot the signs at an early stage.
Mr McGee said “We are really grateful to CARES for supporting us in our efforts to invest in additional capacity for earlier diagnosis and treatment of cancer in our community.
“The kindness of people in donating to this appeal is very much appreciated”.
The appeal comes at a time of significant investment for Burnley hospital and for the trust.
In March, a major £15.6 million development of Burnley hospital was given the go-ahead.
The new building at Burnley General Teaching Hospital will boast a state-of-the-art ophthalmology centre, outpatients departments and maxillo facial facilities, and will be known officially as ‘Phase Eight.
While other investments have seen the opening of the new Lancashire elective centre, the primrose chemotherapy and breast care unit, children’s outpatients and upgrade of the hospital’s theatres.
Whether you’re an individual or a business, you can play a part in helping to save the lives of people by donating to the endoscopy appeal by texting ELHT22 £10 to 70070.
For more information about your hospital charity – ELHT&Me – visit https://www.elht.nhs.uk/elht-and-me-charity
“To support CARES campaigns to raise funds, more information can be found at the charity’s website: www.carescharity.org
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