Royal Surrey supporters thanked in person by MP Jeremy Hunt

Individuals who have donated towards the Cancer and Surgical Innovation centre fundraising campaign at Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust received a special thank-you on Thursday 31 March.

MP Jeremy Hunt, who is spearheading the fundraising campaign, met Royal Surrey Charity supporters at a thank you event hosted at Hasleworks based in Haslemere Town Centre.

The reception saw Jeremy thank everyone that had given to the campaign to date, which has raised over £100k so far. It was also an opportunity to raise awareness for continued fundraising for the centre. The campaign is looking to raise £1 million towards the total cost of the new facility.

With demand for cancer surgery growing, and earlier diagnosis along with advances in effective treatments becoming possible, the new Cancer & Surgical Innovation Centre will meet this demand and will help to save lives. 

The introduction of the latest technology – including robotic surgical equipment for cancer and other benign diseases – along with increased theatre and treatment capacity, will enable more patients to be treated at the Royal Surrey  in the future

Jeremy Hunt, along with Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust CEO, Louise Stead, and Mr John Stebbing, Chief of Surgery Division, provided further information about the new Centre, which would enable Royal Surrey to become the pre-eminent cancer hub in the South East. 

Jeremy Hunt MP said:

“It is a frightening statistic that one in two of us will face a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime. Most of us have or will be affected by cancer and so we must do all we can to beat this horrible disease. I have been truly humbled by the generosity of people and am pleased to announce that to date, we have raised over £100k towards our initial £1m goal. We’ve a long way to go, but I want to thank everyone who has donated and ask others to help if they can.”

Guests also had the chance to listen to one local resident, Rod Plutheroe who spoke of his own experience of undergoing treatment for cancer at Royal Surrey: “I know from my own experience just how brilliant the team at Royal Surrey are. By supporting them with this new Centre, this first-class team can treat more people and help give cancer sufferers the best possible chance of recovery.”

Louise Stead, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust CEO, was also there to meet donors, she said: “Since Jeremy’s launch of our campaign for the Centre last year there has been huge momentum. My team are now just incredibly enthusiastic to start treating our first patients. Jeremy has helped us get this project off the ground, now we need your help to finish the job.”

Royal Surrey Charity would also like to thank Helen and Matthew Bowcock and the team at Hasleworks for their kind support and for hosting this wonderful event.

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More about the campaign

The new centre is estimated to cost around £30 million with funds raised through Jeremy’s campaign supported by Royal Surrey Charity and from Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust.

The final scheme when developed will be subject to usual planning and NHS processes.

Work on the centre is expected to begin in 2022. For further information please visit: jeremyhunt.org

Image credit: Farnham Herald

Royal Surrey's CEO Louise Stead, alongside MP Jeremy Hunt and the Mayor of Haslemere, Simon Dear