Local Hospice Care charity Phyllis Tuckwell has recently received a donation from long-term supporters KatCanDo, who gave £2,770 to pay for a new hoist and a rotunda, both of which help staff at the Hospice to move patients who have limited mobility.
KatCanDo is a local charity that raises money for facilities and equipment to support local cancer patients. Its supporters organise a calendar of fundraising events throughout the year - including barn dances, fashion shows, quiz nights and bridge afternoons – and use the money raised to help local organisations purchase equipment and provide services which are not always funded by the NHS, for the benefit of cancer patients in SW Surrey and NE Hampshire, in hospitals, hospices and in the community.
Since it was formed in 2004, KatCanDo has donated over £26,000 to Phyllis Tuckwell, enabling the charity to buy equipment including two syringe drivers, a pressure-relieving seating system, four new beds, a Cough Assist device and two sets of washable, fire-resistant curtains for each of the four-bed bays on the Hospice’s IPU. This latest donation has been used to purchase a hoist for Day Hospice, which is used to help patients who cannot stand up, to move from their wheelchair to a chair, for example. It has also paid for a rotunda, which can help patients who are able to stand up but cannot walk, move from their wheelchair to a chair more easily and safely.
On Monday 22nd May, Anna Coassin, Individual Giving Manager at Phyllis Tuckwell, welcomed to the Hospice Alan Mowat, Denise Butcher, Steve Coles and Kendra Cardy from KatCanDo, when they came to see the hoist and rotunda which their donation had funded.
“It’s good to know that the money we have donated has made a real difference to Phyllis Tuckwell patients,” said Steve, whose wife Kate died on the Hospice’s In-Patient Unit. “We set up KatCanDo in Kate’s memory, and since then we have raised over £280,000 to purchase equipment for hospices, hospitals and nursing services in Hampshire and Surrey. A lot of the money for this hoist and rotunda was raised through a Proms concert we held recently, in association with the British Legion. We’ll be at the Frimley Green Carnival next, on Sunday 9thJuly, where we’ll hopefully help to raise even more money to help local cancer patients.”
“We would like to thank Kendra, Alan, Denise, Steve and all of those who supported KatCanDo in raising this money,” said Anna Coassin. “Before this we did not have a rotunda at all, and our previous hoist was so old that the manufacturers had stopped making spare parts for it, so we weren’t able to buy the other pieces of equipment, such as slings, which are needed to use it. Having specialised pieces of equipment such as these really helps our staff and patients.”
Phyllis Tuckwell cares for patients and families living with a terminal illness such as cancer, in West Surrey and North East Hampshire. It supports over 250 patients, relatives and carers every day, but as the NHS/Government only covers 20% of its costs, it has to raise over £20,000 a day to do this, and relies heavily on the support of the local community.
If you would like to find out more about supporting Phyllis Tuckwell, please visit www.pth.org.uk, email fundraising@pth.org.uk or call 01252 729446.
