THE hospital is one step closer to building a new mobile cancer care unit, with another £6,000 donated to the cause.
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust has operated a Hope for Tomorrow mobile cancer care unit, named Kayleigh in memory of a cancer patient, since 2012.
An upgraded vehicle, to be built when £315,000 has been raised, continuing to carry Kayleigh’s name, will enable the trust to provide cancer care in local communities for many more years to come.
This week Salisbury Hospital’s League of Friends - the group’s mission to finance projects and initiatives onsite - announced it is donating £6,475.50 towards the funding of the new unit.
Following a cheque presentation Kara Frampton, corporate and community fundraising manager for Hope for Tomorrow, said: “This wonderful donation from Salisbury Hospital League of Friends will fund invaluable equipment that will allow the NHS nurses on board the unit to carry out the same treatment a patient would receive in a hospital setting.
“By having their cancer care treatment aboard our units, patients can maintain their independence and quality of life, saving precious time and money, as they can fit their treatment around their lives and not the other way around.”
More than two-thirds of the money has already been raised for the new unit through company, charity and individual donations.
The new mobile cancer care unit is expected to come into service in September 2023, offering three chemotherapy chairs and three chemotherapy pump stands.
Dr David Stratton, chairman of League of Friends, visited the current mobile care unit to present the cheque.
He said: “The league is really pleased to be able to support this wonderful charity, which reaches out to provide real help to those receiving treatment for cancer closer to their homes.”
Last year, the NHS nurses working on Kayleigh delivered 2,749 cancer care treatments, supporting 770 local patients.
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Stacey Hunter said: “This mobile unit makes such a massive difference to people as they don’t have to trek to the hospital – it’s a service we can deliver in a really different way and I know patients hugely appreciate it.”
Alex, a patient who receives treatment on board Kayleigh, said: “I love the concept of what Hope of Tomorrow is about - it makes so many people's lives that little bit easier, including mine. I would well and truly be lost without this service.”
Kara added: “We’re extremely grateful to the Salisbury Hospital League of Friends for its generosity.
“This donation will make such a difference to the lives of local patients like Alex, enabling them to receive their treatment closer to them.”
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