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A world-wide company with a base in Wilmslow has thrown its support behind The Christie at Macclesfield appeal to bring a new cancer treatment centre to East Cheshire.
For the second year running The Christie charity has been chosen by the philanthropy board of Waters to receive a gift to support The Christie at Macclesfield appeal. In total The Waters Foundation has donated over £40,000 to the new centre which will transform cancer care in Cheshire, the High Peak area of Derbyshire and parts of North Staffordshire, providing care closer to home for more than 1,500 existing Christie patients a year. A gift of £22,519.14 was received last year with a further £17,619.66 donated this month.
Mark McAuliffe, Director of Global Philanthropy for Waters Corporation, commented: “Our corporate and employee charitable donations support a broad range of healthcare institutions, we are delighted to support The Christie at Macclesfield. The Christie has a worldwide reputation for pioneering cancer treatments and world firsts. This is something that fits with our policy to make healthcare accessible to all.”
One Waters employee who has embraced the challenge to support The Christie is Nicola Hampson, a sales manager based in Wilmslow. Nicola decided to support the appeal because her own family has been affected by cancer and she understands how important the new centre will be for the area. She said: “I can literally see the construction of the new Christie building from my home, and I know through my own friends and family how important it will be to have this cancer treatment centre in Cheshire to make access for patients easier.”
Nicola, aged 32, recently took part in The Christie Skydive, throwing herself out of a plane at 15,000 feet to raise money for the appeal.
She said: “I’ve worked at Waters for 3 years and it would normally be my job to organise the charity Christmas party, or join the running team in the Wilmslow Half Marathon. I wanted to carry on supporting The Christie, so I decided to challenge myself a bit further so decided to do a parachute jump. It was a bit daunting, but fortunately I’m not scared of heights, so it was an amazing experience.”
The new Christie centre will bring together essential cancer services into one purpose-built facility delivering local specialist access to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, holistic support and information services, outpatient care, palliative care and a wider range of clinical trials. Around 40,000 appointments per year will take place at the new centre.
The new facility is being funded by The Christie charity, and with income for the charity down by a quarter compared with a normal year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, public support is more vital than ever.
Marie Toller, head of major relationships at The Christie charity, said: "Waters at every level has been so supportive of our vision to bring The Christie cancer centre to Macclesfield. From the local team in Wilmslow participating in events, volunteering and on site fundraising to the head office team in America supporting with this extraordinary support through the foundation. Christie patients, staff and volunteers will benefit for many years to come.”
Waters Corporation has over 7,000 employees worldwide, is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Waters Corporation designs, manufactures, sells and services analytical technologies: liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis. They have a site in Wilmslow, Cheshire employing hundreds of people.
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 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.