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The great and good of Cheshire came together on Thursday night to hear all about The Christie’s plans to build a new cancer treatment centre in Macclesfield.
The event was hosted at Arighi Bianchi, the famous furniture and home store, to give supporters the chance to hear from Christie experts about The Christie charity’s appeal to raise £23 million to make the new centre a reality.
Due to open in 2021, the new centre will give patients the option to have the highest standards of Christie cancer care but closer to their homes than ever before. The Christie at Macclesfield will bring together essential cancer services into one purpose-built unit, delivering radiotherapy, chemotherapy, clinical trials, holistic support such as complementary therapies, counselling and information services, outpatient care and support services.
Whilst a small amount of chemotherapy is currently available in Macclesfield, many patients, including all those who have radiotherapy, currently have to travel to The Christie in Withington, South Manchester, for the majority of their appointments. For those who live further away, this can mean hours spent travelling each day, at a time when patients and their families may already be very distressed. For radiotherapy patients in particular, patients may have to attend for treatment on a daily basis for up to six weeks.
Kind-hearted local supporters in the area have already helped raise more than £3 million towards the target.
Guests on the evening had the opportunity to hear from patients who shared their personal stories as well as being updated on the work of The Christie.
Marie Toller, head of major relationships for The Christie charity, said: “We’re so grateful to everyone who came along on Thursday to hear about our plans for cancer patients in East Cheshire. This is such an important project for Macclesfield and beyond, which will make a huge difference to cancer patients in the future.”
Arighi Bianchi is a keen supporter of The Christie and was delighted to host the event. Director Nick Bianchi said: “It’s a real honour to be able to support The Christie charity. Bringing the Christie to Macclesfield will be hugely beneficial to the community and I’m proud to be part of it.
The Christie at Macclesfield, which received planning approval last year, will transform cancer care in East Cheshire, providing care closer to home for more than 1,500 patients a year. Existing Christie patients from Cheshire, North Staffordshire and the High Peak area of Derbyshire will all benefit. Work on the two storey building is expected to begin in May 2020 with the aim of opening during autumn 2021.
If you would like to support The Christie at Macclesfield appeal please read more about The Christie at Macclesfield project or call 0161 446 3988.
The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to our patients and their families.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It referred to The Christie as ‘a leader in cancer care’ and ‘a pioneer in developing innovative solutions to cancer care.’ The CQC praised the Trust’s staff which it said ‘go the extra mile to meet the needs of patients and their families’ and that they were ‘exceptionally kind and caring.’ In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country, and one of the top three trusts overall in England.
