4:00pm Tuesday 16th March 2010
By Joanna Codd
ROYAL Bournemouth Hospital bosses have defended their decision to go ahead with the next phase of the Jigsaw charity appeal before deciding how to spend more than £2 million raised by the last one.
Having reached that target, they have guaranteed that all funds raised by the Jigsaw Cancer and Blood Disorders Appeal remain earmarked for the sole purpose of upgrading facilities for patients on wards 10 and 11.
Richard Renaut, director of service development for the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Trust, said: “The money is committed. We’ve had people coming up to us and asking: ‘Are you spending the money on something else?’ We categorically deny that.
“We want to make sure the money is spent wisely. We have specialist commissioners coming in April and we are involved in a dialogue with them and staff. The exact design of the building is something we are still working through. The process of decision-making will be transparent.”
The new Jigsaw Appeal for Women is being launched this Thursday with the aim of raising £1.5m by 2012 for improvements to the Women’s Health Unit.
The first phase of the Jigsaw Appeal was to buy new scanning equipment. The second was originally meant to raise £1m to refurbish and extend cramped wards 10 and 11. But in 2008, the appeal was extended and its target upped when the trust announced plans to build a completely new cancer unit and stroke centre.
The trust’s clinical director, Dr Mary Armitage, wrote in her Echo column last week: “The decision to spend both this secure £2m, plus further additional NHS funding, is only held up for a very short period of time. This is to ensure that architect’s plans suit what we as a community need for out oncology and haematology departments. We will be inviting patients and even the press to be represented in the process.” Steve Bargery, who has raised £11,000 for Jigsaw since his wife Michelle died of cancer three years ago, said: “I’m not worried about whether they have a new build, but it’s going to take time to sort out. On the ward, they are struggling for room and equipment. The nurses do brilliantly with what they’ve got.”
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