Southampton Hospital Charity’s Red & White Appeal holds one goal: to create the transplant treatment centre of choice for patients with leukaemia and other blood disorders from Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire, Dorset, West Sussex and the Channel Islands.
The entire project will cost just over £7 million. £5 million has already been secured from the Department of Health, which will fund a brand new extension to the hospital to house state-of-the-art rooms for patients with private bathrooms. The building work is now well under way, and rapidly taking shape.
The Trust’s project manager Mark Maffey said, “We are very pleased to see the project out of the ground, and I am happy to say that it is on target for completion with the official opening planned for Spring 2010.”
However, that is far as the money stretches. Southampton Hospital Charity still need to raise a further £2.2 million to allow the building work to continue onto stage two – a specially designed haematology Day Case Unit, which will be built next to the current inpatient facilities and the new extension.
This Day Case Unit will:
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Improve quality of care for patients
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Improve patients’ privacy and dignity
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Create a calming and comfortable environment for both patients and their families
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Enable more people to receive care close to their homes
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Provide continuity of care by co-locating inpatient and day case services
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Improve facilities for patients' relatives who donate cells for their loved ones' transplants.
The construction of the day case unit can only commence when the appeal reaches its target. Southampton Hospital Charity is encouraging everyone to get involved by holding red and white themed parties, sporting events and fun days to help to raise the money needed for this project to continue.
Veryan Grant, director of Southampton Hospital Charity said, “It is fantastic that the building work on the extension for new inpatient facilities is progressing on schedule, and it would be wonderful to think that we could move onto the construction of the Day Case Unit as soon as the current work has been completed, but to do this we need your help. Please support the appeal in any way you can.”
For more information about the Red & White Appeal and to make a donation today please call Southampton Hospital Charity on 023 8079 8881.
Posted on Monday 17 August 2009