Veterans’ Appeal has £100,000 boost thanks to RJAH Charity
A fundraising appeal at Shropshire’s specialist orthopaedic hospital has had a £100,000 boost thanks to the RJAH Charity.
The Veterans’ Orthopaedic Centre Appeal was launched by The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) back in October 2017 with the aim to raise £1.5 million to fund a bespoke environment to treat veteran patients.
The donation RJAH Charity – which raises money to help provide state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to ensure world class patient care is delivered – has sent the appeal crashing through the £250,000 barrier.
Craig Macbeth, Director of Finance and Planning at RJAH, said he was “delighted” to hand the money over to the appeal.
He said: “I’m delighted to give a £100,000 boost to our Veterans’ Orthopaedic Centre Appeal – this bespoke care environment is going to make a huge difference to the lives of our veteran patients.
“I’m really pleased the RJAH Charity was able to support the appeal and give a further boost to the fundraising efforts.
"The work to support veterans is incredibly important, and we look forward to seeing these plans become a reality in the near future."
The money was presented to Mr Christos Oikonomou, Speciality Doctor in Veterans Arthroplasty, by Craig and Helen Knight, Fundraising Manager.
The centre will also allow the current Veterans’ Orthopaedic Service led by Lieutenant Colonel Carl Meyer, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Serving Officer in the British Army, to be further extended.
The current service is the first of its kind in the UK, with Lt Col Meyer running two outpatient clinics a month to those who have served within the UK military, including National Service, with arthritic lower limb problems.
Helen said: “We are so privileged to have had so much support for our appeal over the past twelve months, which has enabled the Charity to make this wonderful donation.
“We have been and continue to be overwhelmed with the generosity of people who are getting behind such an important cause.”
If you would like to donate to the Veterans’ Orthopaedic Centre Appeal, you can do so online at www.rjah.nhs.uk/voca.
Anyone wishing to raise money for the appeal, please contact Helen Knight on 01691 404588 or at rjah.fundraising@nhs.net.
