Entrepreneur pledges £250,000 to support cancer care in Warwickshire

Glen Burley, Jayne Blacklay and Sir Peter Rigby

Warwickshire entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Peter Rigby has donated £250,000 to support cancer care at a new hospital in the county.

The funding has been donated to the new £22m Straford Hospital by the Rigby Foundation. The money has been used to create a new dedicated cancer unit, named The Rigby Unit in recognition of the donation.

The money will also goes towards the annual Rigby Awards, with the aim of encouraging better ways of delivering cancer care in the local community.

The new unit is equipped with 12 chemotherapy treatment chairs, two emergency treatment rooms, an outpatient facility including counselling rooms, a complementary therapy room and a multi-disciplinary team room.

Emergency cancer patients will also now be seen in a specialist unit on one floor of the new hospital rather than using accident and emergency services.

The first Rigby Awards went to five successful projects put forward by medical staff within the South Warwickshire NHS Trust and ranged from first-time chemotherapy provided at home, to exploring the link between breast cancer and vitamin D deficiency.

Sir Peter Rigby, who is a trustee of The Rigby Foundation, said the new unit would increase accessibility for cancer patients living in South Warwickshire.

Sir Peter said: “Previously, Stratford Hospital wasn’t able to provide chemotherapy on-site for patients which meant they had to travel to Warwick Hospital which could be difficult particularly for those needing treatment on a daily basis.

“The opening of the new cancer unit will change that for the better and hopefully will bring a lasting and telling improvement for local people.

“The Rigby Foundation firmly believes in businesses supporting the communities in which we operate and we wanted to help the new Stratford Hospital provide the best possible facilities for people diagnosed with cancer.”

He said the foundation’s partnership with the hospital would also provide the support needed for clinical teams to take part in cutting-edge research and development, as well as trial new treatments for patients.

“This is a long-term commitment from The Rigby Foundation and looking round the hospital, I am proud of the part we have played in the opening of a state-of-the-art facility,” he added.

Pictured at the opening of the unit are, from left: Glen Burley, chief executive at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, Jayne Blacklay, Director of Development at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust and Sir Peter Rigby.

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