Press release
26 October 2022
Thousands more patients at Addenbrooke’s Hospital will benefit from the advantages of robotic surgery thanks to the support of local people who’ve helped raised £1.5 million to buy the hospital a new robot.
The Robot Appeal was launched by the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) just 18 months ago and donors and fundraisers stepped up to the challenge in many ways including:
- taking part in the Dragon Boat festival,
- running the London Marathon
- taking a penalty kick challenge
- walking up a flight of stairs ten times a day for 100 days
- learning Welsh for 1000 minutes.
- responding to our mailing.
ACT Chief Executive, Shelly Thake, said: “We are bowled over by the impressive efforts of our fundraisers and the generosity of our donors in helping us to reach our target; a massive thank you to everyone who has supported this important appeal. A special thank you must go to the ALBORADA Trust who have yet again donated so substantially to one of our appeals.
“Many more people undergoing surgery will now benefit from a reduced risk of complications and infection, less pain and scarring, and will be able to get back home to their loved ones much sooner. In short, you’ve helped to make your hospital even better.”
It can take months to recover from traditional, ‘open’ surgery, however, following robot-assisted surgery, patients can be discharged from hospital within a matter of days, rather than weeks.
Cambridge University Hospitals Medical Director, Dr Ashley Shaw, said: “We are hugely grateful to the generosity of donors and the support of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust in enabling us to bring the benefits of robotic surgery to our patients in Cambridge.
“This gift will enable many patients to undergo a range of major surgical procedures with fewer complications and faster recovery.”
Director of The ALBORADA Trust, Jeremy Richardson, said: “We are delighted to be part of this tremendous community effort to support ACT in helping to improve the lives of patients at Addenbrooke’s by enabling the hospital’s amazing staff to make even greater use of state-of-the-art technology. We are committed to making a real difference with the support we give; this project will do just that.”
Now that the funds have been raised, the hospital will start the procurement process to purchase the new robot. If anyone still has funds to donate to the appeal, they can still do so as their money could help towards ongoing costs such as training for staff who will be using the robot. To find out more, visit: www.helpyourhospital.co.uk/donate.
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