Charities have joined forces to donate £4,332.89 to provide a new treatment chair for the Chemotherapy Unit at the Royal Preston Hospital.

The Rhodi Charitable Trust and The HVM Foundation are paying for the full cost of the Digiterm C4 Battery Therapy Chair to the Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

The chair, which has its own power supply so can keep working in a power cut, will be used by both patients receiving chemotherapy treatment and by staff, who require specialised chemotherapy training.

Rebecca Arestidou, from the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, said: “Staff numbers on the unit have been increased to meet current service demand.

“New staff need specialised training on the unit’s equipment, including its chemotherapy treatment chairs, which are designed to maximise patient comfort.

"The team didn’t want to take out any of its 15 chairs for training as this would have impacted on the number of patients they were able to treat so Rhodi Charitable Trust and The HVM Foundation have very kindly stepped in to provide this new additional chair.” 

She added: "As well as upping the skills of new staff, it will be used by approximately 10 patients a week so we are extremely grateful to both charities for their continued support.”

Ibrahim Vali Bux, from the Rhodi Charitable Trust, and Firoz Bux, from The HVM Foundation, added: “We aim to provide support to various good causes.

"Supporting local charities and causes is particularly important to us.

"As such, we are delighted to once again work in partnership with Rosemere Cancer Foundation to fund this new chair. 

"We hope our gesture will support their great work in treating cancer patients and training staff on specialised chemotherapy.”

Rosemere Cancer Foundation funds cutting-edge equipment, clinical research, staff training and services to make patients’ cancer journey more effective, comfortable and stress-free.