Cancer care for the patients of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will be transformed by the opening of a new chemotherapy suite on Monday (21 October) thanks to those who generously donated to the Leicester Hospitals Charity Chemotherapy Suite Appeal.
The refurbished chemotherapy suite features modern amenities, new treatment equipment and six additional chairs that will help to provide 4000 more chemotherapy treatments a year. The Chemotherapy Suite Appeal raised more than £700,000 thanks to generous donations from the local community. The appeal was led by Leicester Hospitals Charity with the invaluable support of GEMS Charity, to raise funds for the refurbishment and upgrade of the facilities at Osborne Building at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Victoria Price was one of the first patients to receive treatment at the new facility.
Victoria said: “The new suite is lovely, today is my first treatment and I was very nervous, but I felt so reassured when I came in. The room is so nice, and the staff are so kind, it has made me feel really relaxed and at ease.”
Victoria’s mum, Elaine, added: “Thank you to all the people who have donated to this suite, you have made a very difficult time much more relaxing and less scary for patients and that means the world.”
Richard Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer at Leicester’s Hospitals said: “This new suite will allow us to provide a more comfortable and dignified environment for people undergoing treatment. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who donated to this campaign. Your generosity is helping us to deliver high-quality care for our patients and communities and we are extremely grateful.”
The new suite will enable the hospital’s dedicated team to provide hundreds of extra treatments to patients from across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland each month.
Sunita Patel, Acting Head of Leicester Hospitals Charity said: “We are immensely grateful to the individual supporters and community groups whose dedication and generosity over the last couple of years, have made the opening of this new chemotherapy suite a reality.
“It is a proud moment for Leicester Hospitals Charity, as seeing the finished space and its state-of-the-art facilities highlights the power of community-driven initiatives in making a very real and tangible difference to the lives of patients in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.”
Sally Anderson, Founder of GEMS Charity, added: “We felt it was important to close the fundraising gap for the appeal to allow the patients to feel comfortable and receive their treatment in a fresh and bright environment as quickly as possible. Being a small, local Leicestershire charity run solely by volunteers; this is the biggest project we have undertaken. We are very proud to have been part of completing this project, hopefully, it can help the patients and allow another 4000 people a year to receive their vital cancer treatment. This achievement shows the power a community can have.”