Author: Cheryl.Elvy@act4addenbrookes.org.uk

ACT supporters have donated and pledged an astonishing £31.7m of the £56m raised so far – helping to take the campaign well past the halfway point of the £100m target.

Thanks to these generous ACT supporters, the campaign to build a ground-breaking children’s hospital in Cambridge – the first hospital truly designed to bring together the treatment of mental and physical health – has taken a significant step forward. With an embedded University of Cambridge research institute, the new children’s hospital is expected to have a regional, national and global impact.

The news of the fundraising milestone comes soon after the project’s Outline Business Case was given approval in principle by the government. As a result, pre-construction works are due to begin on the site of the new hospital early in 2024, with full construction due to start as early as 2025.

Dame Mary Archer, President of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and Co-Chair of the Cambridge Children’s Hospital Fundraising Campaign, said:

“Our grateful thanks to all the amazing donors and supporters for their vision and generosity, which have brought us to this important campaign milestone. We still have a long way to go but I am just delighted for everyone who has been championing this project over the last few years that we are now at this exciting point. Cambridge Children’s Hospital has been a long time in the making, so this is a huge moment for the 1.5 million children and young people in our region.”

Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, the only NHS region without one. It will also be the first hospital truly designed to treat mental and physical health together, with integrated wards, single occupancy bedrooms, access to gardens and terraces, and a school.

The hospital will be a national exemplar, delivering game-changing advances in life sciences research via the six research centres in the Cambridge Children’s Research Institute. Focusing on early detection and preventative medicine, the hospital will detect disease early or prevent it altogether, personalise health care and deliver it closer to home for children and young people across the East of England.

The new hospital will be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, at the heart of Europe’s largest life-sciences cluster. The unique density and co-location of research institutes, industry and health care delivery here will enable collaborations that ensure discoveries made at the research institute will transform diagnosis and become routine treatments for young patients in years to come.

As the campaign passes the halfway mark we will now look ahead towards the next phase, where there will be more opportunity for people who want to support this campaign to get involved with fundraising, donating, and volunteering to help make this new hospital a reality – we’ll be more sharing more details about how you can get involved soon.

Launched just two years ago, the fundraising campaign is a partnership between Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), as well as Head to Toe Charity and the University of Cambridge.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are excited to share the funding of a new app designed to assist patients in getting ready for their upcoming surgeries.

The Fit4Surgery team at Addenbrooke’s has partnered with Surgery Hero, a health coaching app that provides expert guidance, support and resources to patients in the period of time waiting for an operation.

Surgery Hero offers a range of features that can help patients prepare for and recover from surgery including a dedicated health coach, expert health information, tailored exercise routines, tools to monitor progress, meal plans, local support groups and goal setting. Patients enrolled onto this service will benefit from a personalised 8 to 12 week programme pre operation as well as a 6 to 8 week post op programme, to aid better surgical outcomes and a faster recovery.

The enrollment of patients is currently in its early phase, with patients being invited to join via a text message sent by the hospital. As usage of the app increases, it is anticipated that a greater number of surgeries will go ahead, ultimately leading to a reduction in overall waiting times for operations.

If you would like to support ACT and help us make our hospitals even better please click here.

Thanks to our supporters, we’re delighted to have been able to support Addenbrooke’s Diwali celebrations, also known as the ‘Festival of Light’.

The hospital hosted a special event for the CUH community, where staff enjoyed a free lunch buffet, traditional food and drink, and a special Bharatanatyam dance performance. Staff also had the opportunity to decorate tea lights and receive some mehndi (henna) art. The hospital chimney was also illuminated for Diwali from 9 November through to 14 November.

ACT team member, Em, also brought in a variety of delectable traditional treats for the enjoyment of ACT staff.

Thanks to your generous donations, ACT can provide funding for inclusive events like Diwali celebrations at the hospital. From everyone at ACT, we wish you a very Happy Diwali!

To find out more about how your donations help to make Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie even better, click here.

Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) staff enjoyed engaging with hospital staff, representing over 100 countries, during recent celebrations for Black History Month at Addenbrooke’s.

Thanks to your donations, ACT supported the event by providing funding for cakes, homecooked food, and a lilac tree to be planted on site.

ACT is proud to support the hospital’s Race Equality and Cultural Heritage (REACH) network by funding events that promote race equality and inclusion at Addenbrooke’s.

To make a donation and support patients and staff at Addenbrooke’s, click here.

Coming into hospital can be a difficult experience, but thanks to the generosity of our amazing supporters, ACT have taken many small steps to make clinics across Addenbrooke’s more appealing and comfortable for patients, with colourful art and soft lighting.

Children’s Phlebotomy Room

ACT have recently funded a newly decorated paediatric phlebotomy room ensuring children coming into hospital for blood tests can now experience a calmer, more welcoming environment. The room is fully equipped with bright sensory equipment and decorated with colourful jungle scenes.

The room makes a massive difference as staff no longer have to search for a free room, so waiting times have been massively reduced from one and a quarter hours to just 10-15 minutes.

The Cancer Assessment Unit

The Cancer Assessment Unit is an emergency department for patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients who become unwell can contact an emergency line and attend this unit rather than the emergency department.

The area lacks natural light, so ACT are funding new sky-effect ceiling panels to brighten up the space and significantly improve patients’ environment while waiting for treatment or results.

(Photo is illustrative only and taken from the manufacturer’s website)

Allergy Clinic 2A

Thanks to ACT supporters and with help from CUH Arts, young patients attending the Allergy Clinic at Addenbrooke’s now have a colourful mural to look at while they wait.

The vibrant countryside themed artwork was created by artist, Beverley Coraldean and helps to create a warm and friendly atmosphere for patients and families.

Breast Unit Clinic

The consultation and examination rooms of the Breast Unit clinic were very bland and not instantly relaxing for patients. Thanks to your kind donations, ACT have funded new attractive artwork creating a much more welcoming environment.

Recovery Ward

The Main Recovery ward at Addenbrooke’s desperately needed some tlc. The ward has no windows or natural light, making it a very drab space for the 10,000 patients a year recovering from their operations.

Your support has enabled us to fund a special lightbox which has been installed in the centre of the room. The outdoor scene helps to distract patients, giving them something calming and pleasant to look at while they recover.

Thank you to all our supporters for helping us make our hospitals even better! Click here to find out more about what your donations can do for us.

Generous funding from ACT supporters has allowed the rehab team on ward J2 Addenbrooke’s to purchase a bed bike to help patients recover.

The bike helps patients build muscle strength, control muscle movement, maintain joint range and build stamina, amongst other things. It has been a massive help for patients who cannot get out of bed to access the gym.

Mr Yeldham was a patient on ward J2 following a motorcycle accident, leaving him with significant weakness. Due to medical complications in his early rehab, he was often too unwell or tired to go to the gym. The bed bike meant he was able to exercise, which helped him avoid muscle deterioration and allowed him to build up muscle strength.

He said: “I thought the bed bike was a great idea. I said to my physio that I wanted to walk, but due to my condition, they explained to me that this would take time and that we needed to build up my muscle strength before being able to attempt walking. I asked about cycling, initially thinking I could do this on a normal bike, but soon found that it would be a medical risk. Using this bike allowed me to build up my strength to walk safely and provided reassurance that I was progressing in my rehab. It took a lot of my worry away.”

Click here to find out more about how your donations make a difference

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the arrival of the new da Vinci surgical robot made possible through the fantastic efforts of our supporters who helped raise the £1.5 million to purchase it.

The robot was delivered to and unveiled at Addenbrooke’s on 5 July 2023 – the 75th anniversary of the NHS and even cut its own ribbon!

Our robot campaign in 2021 saw surgeons, clinicians, supporters, and fundraisers join together to raise funds in all sorts of ways to buy this clever kit, allowing thousands more patients undergoing surgery to experience less scarring, fewer risks, faster recovery times and quicker returns home.

Watch this short video of the celebrations and hear from our CEO, Shelly Thake, as she thanks supporters for making it all possible.

To learn more about the benefits of robotic surgery and find out about how you can support future campaigns and appeals, please visit our website.

David Bateson was diagnosed with melanoma of the scalp in 2019, and since then, the cancer has unfortunately spread to his liver, lungs, and spine. However, he is currently on a course of immunotherapy at Addenbrooke’s helping him live as normal a life as possible.

Earlier this month, David arranged a charity football match to raise money for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust to fund more research into immunotherapy for cancer. Ampthill Town Football Club and Luton Town Football Club under 21s (which David’s son Jack plays for) battled it out on the pitch, with former England goalkeeper David James even making an appearance on the night.

David said: “I started on a course of immunotherapy at Addenbrookes, a relatively new drug, and it’s had some amazing results. It allows your immune system to fight cancer cells and is generally ‘kinder’ on the body than chemotherapy. My cancer is now stable and has been for the last 18 months. This drug allows me to live with cancer; I believe I wouldn’t be here today without it. I have a strong desire to raise money to say thanks and help contribute to more research in this area. The work that has been done so far has given me my life back.”

Thank you to David and everyone who supported the event helping to raise over £24,000. This amazing amount of money will help to make our hospitals even better! If you want to do something to thank the hospital visit our website.

A group of 8 hospital staff working with children and young people challenged themselves to walk the Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge to raise funds for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT).

The group calling themselves ‘Legs Miserables vs the Yorkshire 3 peaks’ took on the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent (694 metres), Whernside (736 metres) and Ingleborough (723 metres). These hills form part of the Pennine range and encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The group rose to the challenge and have so far raised £1,475 to support research and development in children’s services. The group said: “Thank you all for your generous support and wonderful messages of encouragement. We had the most fantastic time, the challenge was not easy, but we were successful.

The weather was brutal. Gail force wind, thunderstorms and lightning added adventure, to say the least!”

Huge thanks to the group for supporting their hospital! Click here if you would like to make a donation to help your hospital.

Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust is proud to be supporting an international study, led by Addenbrooke’s Hospital with its search to find drugs that protect the most vulnerable patients from Covid.

COVID-19 continues to have devastating consequences around the world, particularly for the most vulnerable. The aim of study ‘PROTECT-V’ is to discover drugs to help individuals with kidney problems, those receiving drugs that suppress the immune system due to an organ transplant or an autoimmune disease, receiving cancer treatment, or with immunodeficiency.

Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust chief executive, Shelly Thake, commented: “ACT is proud to support world-leading research taking place across Addenbrooke’s, and we were delighted that our supporters’ donations have contributed to a study which has sowed the seeds for more important work in the fight against COVID-19.”

To read more about this amazing work please visit the Addenbrooke’s website. You can also learn about other vital research funded by ACT to improve patient care at Addenbrooke’s and across the NHS here.