Minutes:
Michelle Simpson – The Chartwell Cancer Trust presented an overview of the fundraising work currently being undertaken by the charity.
The Chartwell Cancer Trust was founded in 2005 by Michael Douglas, after he had undergone treatment in the Chartwell Unit at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) and had been struck by how understaffed the unit was. Ever since, The Chartwell Cancer Trust had funded additional medical staff specifically for the unit. As a small charity they were able to say “yes” to requests quickly, and had become the “go to place” when fundraising campaigns were needed. A lot of work took place behind the scenes, including the funding of four specialist haematology clinics a week, and fundraising £80k to help make the layout of the treatment suite at the Chartwell Unit more accessible.
The Chartwell Unit consisted of an inpatients’ ward, outpatients and a treatment suite. There was no longer a treatment offer for children, as this had been moved to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) – Woolwich, Kings College Hospital and Croydon University Hospital. Through their fundraising, The Chartwell Cancer Trust provided support to these out of borough children’s wards including: additional staff, medical equipment, training for the nursing staff, coffee machines, toys, games, DVD’s, books, and arts and crafts. Childhood Cancer Support Groups had been set up in Bromley, which included regular monthly meet-ups and parties at Christmas, Easter and Halloween. These events provided families with the opportunity to make special memories together, and allowed them to have some “normal” time with other families in similar situations. The Bromley events had been so successful that they had also established them for the three children’s wards.
The Chartwell Cancer Trust had a number of capital projects currently running for the PRUH. In February 2019, they had been approached by the PRUH to raise £80k to purchase a state of the art breast scanner. As the machine had been so vital, funding already raised had been moved across to make the purchase and fundraising was taking place retrospectively. Other projects had included fundraising £350k for the upgrade of the Endoscopy Unit at the PRUH and £250k for a Virtual Conferencing Facility which linked Guy’s, St Thomas’, King’s and the PRUH. A Member noted the fantastic work that The Chartwell Cancer Trust undertook, and questioned what support had been received from the NHS in relation to the Endoscopy Unit. Ms Simpson said that the £350k being raised was just a “stop-gap” to keep the unit going until funding was signed off, as millions of pounds were needed due to it being in a state of disrepair. They had been unable to raise the money as quickly as needed, so King’s had stepped in. Another Member queried if, in relation to the Endoscopy Unit, they were replacing things that should be provided through the NHS, or if they were adding little extra to make patients more comfortable. Ms Simpson said that they added extras in all areas, however the Endoscopy Unit was a “grey area” – last year over 11,000 procedures had been undertaken and the Unit was desperate for some items to be replaced.
Other capital projects were being undertaken for Kings College & Croydon University Hospital’s, including The Chartwell Cancer Trust’s biggest appeal to date. This was the Lilypad Appeal, which aimed to raise £750k towards the cost of the oncology beds in the new Paediatric Village in Croydon University Hospital. This was a two-year project, which was well underway. Other smaller fundraising projects for King’s included £20k for Professor John Strouboulis’s cultured cell and gene editing research project and funding for a specific brain cancer and primary nervous system project.
Courses of treatment for childhood cancer were much longer than for adult cancers, which often left the children affected by their isolation. To help combat this, the AV1 ‘No Isolation’ Robot had been created. The robot could sit on the child’s desk at school, and acted as their eyes, ears and voice in the classroom. It could be accessed from wherever the child was, be it in hospital or at home, and allowed them to stay connected with their classmates, peers and teachers and continue with their education when they were too ill to physically attend school. The eyes of the robot could express how the child was feeling, and its head could flash white when the child wanted to interact with the teacher. It could also turn blue if the child was feeling unwell or not wanting to interact. The Chartwell Cancer Trust currently had twelve of these robots, which were all with children, and two more had been ordered.
In response to a question, Ms Simpson confirmed that the unit price of the AV1 ‘No Isolation’ Robot was just under £3.5k. They were produced by a small company which had started up the previous year, and it was hoped that the more robots made, the more the price could be reduced. A Member asked if any help was received from the school PTA’s where the robots were placed. Ms Simpson said that fundraising usually happened after the robot was placed, and that they tended to be funded by businesses. Part of the robot’s cost was for the safeguarding elements it included, which schools had requested to ensure that it was just live streaming. There was also an agreement process in place for when a child took on a robot, to ensure that they were the only one using it. A Member enquired if there was a possibility of the company leasing out the robots for a monthly fee. Ms Simpson said that this was an option that had recently been offered, however buying the robots had been the only option at the time of ordering.
Mina Kakaiya, the Healthwatch Bromley representative asked if there was any evidence of what impact the robots had on the children’s attainment. Ms Simpson noted that the only information was what they had gathered themselves, and in the last issue of their magazine, a case study of two children who had used the robots had been included. One of the children had been undergoing treatment for a second time, and had said that the robot changed his life. The robot was carried from lesson to lesson by his friend, and the child’s level of education was still where it should be.
The Chartwell Cancer Trust was occasionally allocated funding or grants for capital projects, however they were being asked to do more and more, and as a result help was needed to spread the word. Members were encouraged to tell colleagues and businesses about the charity to help to raise awareness; connect them to others that may be able to help; and support their events and challenges. In response to a question, Ms Simpson said that funding was their main problem and there was still so much more that they wanted to do. Copies of their recent magazines were provided to Members, which included information on how The Chartwell Cancer Trust raised money, and how it was spent.
The Healthwatch Bromley representative noted that the feedback they received, in relation to patient’s experience of the Chartwell Unit at the PRUH, was very positive.
The Chairman thanked Ms Simpson for her extremely interesting presentation, and invited her to return to a future meeting of the Sub-Committee to provide an update on the work of The Chartwell Cancer Trust.
RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.