Mayor’s £50,000 gift for new unit at hospital after his year in office
THE Mayor of Hillingdon has raised £50,000 towards the cost of building a new Intensive Therapy Unit extension at Harefield Hospital.
Councillor George Cooper, selected the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity as one of his Charities of the Year during his year in office.
The £50,000 will be used towards the cost of building an Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) extension the north-west London hospital.
The new extension will be a much-needed addition to the current 18-bed intensive therapy unit at Harefield Hospital, which currently supports more than 800 patients annually.
The hospital is one of Europe’s leading centres for transplantation and ventricular assist device therapy, treating patients who are waiting for, or have undergone, heart and lung transplants.
The new ITU will house six single rooms to accommodate patients who have compromised immunity to avoid the risk of infection. It is estimated that an extra 250 patients will be cared for in the new ITU each year, and building work is expected to start in the summer.
During his year in office, the Mayor of Hillingdon fundraised in the borough, hosting a variety of inspiring events.
These included running sponsored quiz evenings; staging concerts celebrating the diversity of the borough; Uxbridge College students organising a murder mystery dinner, where they acted and cooked for paying guests; and organising a tour of the Battle of Britain Ops Room at the RAF in Uxbridge and a tour around RAF Northolt.
The Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr George Cooper, said: “As I step down from my year in office, I am delighted that residents in the borough have risen to the challenge in helping us to raise funds towards the cost of building a new intensive therapy unit extension at Harefield Hospital.”
Gill Raikes, the Chief Executive from Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity, said: We are delighted to be receiving a cheque for £50,000 from the out-going Mayor of Hillingdon.
“This new extension will provide the extra room to treat many more patients. Thank you for your hard work helping us to reach our fundraising target.”