THE APPEAL to raise £1million for Stratford Hospital has passed the £800,000 mark.
Thanks to the efforts of fund-raisers across the district, just under £805,000 has been collected since the appeal was launched almost two years ago.
Hospital chiefs are looking to create a new cancer and state-of-the-art eye treatment centre at the existing site on Arden Street.
It is hoped the £1million appeal will help fund everything from specialist chemotherapy chairs to iPads, which do not come as standard in the £22million hospital.
And with a host of fund-raising events set to take place in the coming months, the appeal coffers are set for a further boost.
A Night at the Big Top Circus Ball event on October 22 has already sold out with only reserve table bookings remaining.
A music and entertainment evening inspired by Dr Terry Gasper – a keen volunteer and former GP at Rother House Surgery – is planned at Stratford ArtsHouse on October 27.
Appeal bosses are also hoping to repeat the success of a previous film night by screening Mamma Mia! at The Riverside in Tiddington Road on November 10.
And Take Flight Aviation has pledged its support by offering an adrenaline-filled flying experience over the weekend of November 12 and 13.
Thrill-seekers aged 16 and over who agree to raise £300 in sponsorship will have the chance to take to the skies of south Warwickshire for a private flying lesson.
Plans for the hospital were officially given the green light by Stratford District Council back in October 2014 with the overall building project expected to last just over two years.
The new cancer unit will be made up of 12 treatment chairs and two side rooms – allowing chemotherapy to be carried out on site and providing an emergency cancer unit for patients to receive specialist care rather than using the Accident and Emergency department.
There will also be a Macmillan Cancer Support information centre similar to the one in the Aylesford Unit at nearby Warwick Hospital.
The eye unit meanwhile, will give people access to specialised eye treatment facilities and is set to include a new state-of-the-art theatre – designed to treat a range of eye conditions.
Hospital chiefs hope the new facilities will help reduce travel time and make it easier for patients who live within Stratford district and south Warwickshire.
The hospital is expected to open its doors next spring.
Visit www.stratfordhospital.co.uk for further information or email [email protected] to get involved with fund-raising.
