Do Them Proud Archives - Leicester Hospitals Charity

Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal's £7.5million Success Celebrated At King Power Stadium

The successful major step towards giving Leicester and the East Midlands its first ever stand-alone children’s hospital was marked today with a special event held at King Power Stadium.

Fundraisers and supporters of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal joined staff from Leicester’s Hospitals at the home ground of Leicester City Football Club to celebrate the completion of the £7.5million fundraising appeal and the impact it will have on the region’s children for decades to come.

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Reaching the target has allowed the first Phase for the new Leicester Children’s Hospital to be completed – moving the world-renowned East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre (EMCHC) to its state-of-the-art new home in the Kensington Building at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

The new facilities will enable more patients to be seen under one roof, reducing waiting times, providing faster diagnosis, treatment and discharge and eliminate the need for delicate patients to be routinely transferred between multiple hospital sites.

Over the coming years, the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal will continue to support University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) to relocate all remaining children’s services to the Kensington Building, giving the East Midlands its first ever single-site children’s hospital.

Chair of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, Stephen Woolfe, hailed the completion of Phase One of the project as a ‘fantastic achievement’.

“All of us involved with this landmark project are delighted that we’ve reached this remarkable milestone,” says Stephen.

“To have raised £7.5million shows how much the people of Leicester care about giving our children the new hospital they deserve. We are deeply grateful to all of the families, businesses and community groups who contributed towards helping to make this achievement possible.”

Lisa Davies, director of Leicester Hospitals Charity who runs the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, says the charity are ‘in awe’ of the support the appeal has received.

“This is, by far, the single biggest project that our charity has ever been involved with and we are overjoyed to see Phase One completed on schedule,” says Lisa.

“We’ve been truly in awe of the support shown by our community to help us do our children proud – not just the volume of people, but the lengths many of them have gone to help. We are delighted to celebrate all of them here today and say a heartfelt thank you to all who showed such unwavering support – even during the midst of a pandemic.”

The moving story of Leicester resident and appeal fundraiser Asiya Parekh’s young son, Yahya, inspired the Muslim community to raise over £250,000 for the campaign. After living years beyond expectations despite being born with multiple complex heart conditions, Yahya sadly died last year.

“When my husband and I saw the new children’s heart facilities, I cried tears of sadness and joy all at once,” says Asiya.

“This new hospital is now the beginning of so many journeys. So many new days will rise from here for so many mothers just like me, and babies just like mine. Everyone here today has played their part in making this dream a reality for the city of Leicester.”

Anyone wanting to contribute towards the future efforts of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal can visit DoThemProud.com to donate, sign up as a supporter or learn more about the appeal, or can follow the appeal on Facebook at FB.me/DoThemProud and help spread the word on social media using #DoThemProud.

£7.5m Leicester Children's Hospital Appeal Launches In Style

Leicester Hospitals Charity launched our biggest ever charity appeal yesterday to help transform how children’s hospital services are provided for patients and their families across Leicestershire and the East Midlands.

The £7.5m Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal was officially unveiled to the public at Leicester City Football Club’s King Power Stadium to support Leicester’s Hospitals’ ambitious long-term plans to create a single-site, dedicated Children’s Hospital at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Leicester’s Hospitals’ Chief Executive John Adler was on hand to formally announce the launch of the appeal to over 80 invited guests from across Leicestershire and the East Midlands.

Attendees were among the first to see exciting plans for the new Leicester Children’s Hospital, including renders of new space-themed ward designs and charity-funded new equipment to help provide more comfort and convenience for patients and their families.

Leicester Hospitals Charity’s Director, Lisa Davies says she and her team are proud to launch the biggest ever appeal in the charity’s history.

“We’re thrilled to finally be able to share the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal with the people of the East Midlands,” says Lisa.

“This is a huge moment for our region as this launch marks the big first step to securing a dedicated single-site children’s hospital for Leicester and the East Midlands. Everyone across our shared community now has a fantastic opportunity to unite and help transform our children’s lives for generations to come by supporting the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

“We all strongly believe that our children are relying on us to provide them with the best possible hospital services and we need to do them proud.”

With a fundraising target of £7.5m, the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal will initially support the relocation of Leicester’s Hospitals’ world-renowned children’s heart services from Glenfield Hospital to the Kensington Building at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. This forms parts of a longer-term plan to combine all children’s services into the expanding Kensington Building and finally provide Leicestershire and the East Midlands with its very own dedicated, stand-alone children’s hospital.

Consultant Paediatrician, Chris Wighton, says the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal will have a major impact on the healthcare of the region’s children if successful.

“Bringing the children’s services together in one location will be so important to the future of how we provide care to children in the East Midlands,” says Chris.

“If people support this appeal and help it succeed, it means we will be able to diagnose and provide treatment faster, reduce lengths of stay and reduce stress for patients and their families.

“It will also be vital in helping us recruit and retain even more talented paediatric staff.”

With the appeal now officially launched, Leicester Hospitals Charity calls on people across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland and the wider East Midlands to donate to and show their support for this important cause.

Anyone wanting to contribute towards making the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal a success can visit DoThemProud.com to donate, sign up as a supporter or learn more about the appeal, or can follow the appeal on Facebook at FB.me/DoThemProud and help spread the word on social media using #DoThemProud.

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