Sponsor a brick appeal

4 December 2003

Media invitation:

Time:                9.30am

Date:                Monday, 8^th December 2003

Venue:              Main Reception, West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds

The West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust and Macmillan Cancer Relief are appealing for people to ‘sponsor a brick’ to help fund the development of a new Macmillan Cancer Unit in Bury St Edmunds. A photo-opportunity has been arranged for the media, with a Macmillan volunteer handing their sponsored brick over to Haymills, the builders who will be starting work on site.

People have been invited to purchase bricks for £1 each. Groups, associations, companies and individuals are invited to join the fundraising campaign and pledge money to the Macmillan Brick Appeal. A commemorative Book of Donors will acknowledge everyone who has contributed to the Appeal.

Macmillan's Fundraising Manager, Sharon Ireland, said: “The community in Suffolk has already been tremendous with its support for the Appeal but we still have a long way to go.  We need thousands and thousands of bricks to construct this building for the benefit of cancer patients and their families.  Four in 10 people are likely to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and we need more specialist services to care for them.  I would like to encourage everyone to support the Macmillan Brick Appeal and together we'll build the new cancer unit.”

West Suffolk Hospital needs a new Oncology Unit as the existing one is too small to meet the rapid growth in the service. The new Unit has been planned around the needs of patients and their families, including enhancing privacy and dignity. An airy new reception and waiting area allows direct access to all oncology services, and a treatment area opens onto a garden, allowing patients to sit in groups or individually. Six additional beds, to an enhanced standard, are also included.

Geoff Tye, contract manager for Haymills, said: “We are delighted to be working with West Suffolk Hospital on the development of its new cancer unit.  Haymills has been involved in similar healthcare projects at Addenbrooke’s, Ipswich and Papworth Hospitals, so we are ideally placed in terms of skills and expertise to meet the demands of this type of project.”

If you would like to make a donation to the Macmillan Brick Appeal, please contact Sharon Ireland at Macmillan Cancer Relief, The Old Wool Warehouse, St Andrews St South, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3PH, telephone 01284 750808.