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Hospital calls
on real life superheroes for fundraising day
HUNDREDS of people across
Merseyside will don capes and walk 10,000 steps for the teenage
cancer unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
Radio City's Cash for Kids is holding a Superhero day on Friday, 16
May 2014, to raise funds to equip and decorate a Teenage and Young Adult
Cancer unit (TYA) at the new Royal, set to open in 2017, and will
broadcast live from the hospital on the day.
Every shift, the average nurse walks five miles - or 10,000 steps -
so hundreds of supporters will wear pedometers and match the feat on
the day, while a host of other fundraising activities will take
place and Radio City will broadcast live from the hospital.
In the current ageing building, some younger patients have been
frustrated by the environment and facilities. While some rooms have
widescreen TVs and en suite facilities, many do not. The new TYA
will offer age appropriate care as well as emotional, psychological,
practical and social support to people aged 16 to 24 years who have
been diagnosed with cancer. There will be TVs and pull down
beds in every room so parents can stay with their child.
At the heart of the unit will be 'The Hub', a space where young
patients can play pool and other games, and listen to music with
fellow patients and visiting friends. It will include a computer
suite, so teens can continue their education while in hospital, or
relax and chat to friends online. This space will also include
comfortable couches, and a computer console and to provide
entertainment for patients during what can be long periods in
hospital.
Whether you are an individual, want to fundraise with friends or
colleagues or you are a school, register your details online and
download a fundraising pack to help you get started.
For more
details visit:-
radiocity.co.uk/superhero,
call:- 0151 4726965 or text the word:- 'CITY' to:- 70070 to donate £5.
Naomi Daly was treated on ward 10Z's Day Care unit and having
experienced the ward conditions first hand, started fundraising and
lobbying her local MP for the refurbishment of the ward so that
people like her could enjoy a better quality of life during
treatment.
Naomi sadly died on 31 December 2012, aged just 21. She had beaten
both leukaemia and lymphoma, but 10 months after receiving a
successful stem cell transplant from her eldest sister, Naomi got
pneumonia which proved fatal.
Her brother Peter, 41, who lives close to the Royal and has five
other sisters, has taken up Naomi's cause and is asking that people
support the appeal to create a first class unit. He said the
hospital environment can make a massive difference, for patient's
Naomi's age and their family. "There are 2 rooms in the
current TYA at the end of 7Y and that made all the difference. She
had photos on the wall and we would all go round and watch TV of an
evening. She used to joke that my social life had improved since she
was admitted! But when she was transferred to another ward it wasn't
the same. She went to the local MP to ask for more funding and
fought hard to raise awareness of the need for a better environment
for patients."
Peter explained it was that same
fighting spirit that helped Naomi beat the odds in the first place.
He added:- "Naomi was given a 5% chance of survival when she
was initially diagnosed. She had leukaemia, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
and hiladelphia chromosome. Her response was 'bring it on'.
She was determined to beat it and she did beat it. 18 months later
she was completely clear. She sent a text out that said:-
'I've done it'.
But 10 months after having a bone marrow transplant from her sister,
she started to have difficulty breathing, picked up a bug and we
lost her on New Year's Eve 2012 to pneumonia."
Peter remembered how apt it was that after saying his final goodbye
to his sister, there were fireworks and church bells ringing
outside. He added:- "They had nicknamed her Naomi 'Diva' Daly
in the hospital. She worked and performed at the Everyman Theatre
and used to teach the local youth. She performed at the closing
ceremony for the old Everyman, dressed as an undertaker of all
things.
One thing she wanted if she got married was a gospel choir. So we
wanted to get one for her funeral which was on dad's birthday, 9
January. Eventually we found the Love and Joy Gospel Choir at the
Lighthouse in Anfield and they didn't charge a penny."
 A lover of tattoos, Naomi wanted a tattoo of a cancer research
ribbon, with the words "You never know how strong you are,
until being strong is your only choice" written across it. She was
never able to get it, so her friend Scott Stringer got it in her
memory. And last year, Scott, 26, climbed Mount Semeru, an active
volcano in Indonesia, to raise funds for the Royal and enlisted the
help of rock band Enter Shikari, who raffled off priceless mementos
and rare records. Altogether, £9,000 was raised for the new Royal.
Another friend, Keith Armstrong, 24, from Huyton; a former cancer
patient himself; scaled Sydney Harbour Bridge last year in memory
of his friend and raised money to improve facilities on 10Z in the
process.
After inspiring her friends and family to help improve facilities
for teenagers and young adults with cancer, Naomi's family want
others to join them in helping create a first class facility in the
new Royal. |
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3 new schools
set to be built
CONTRACTS worth £28 million
are set to be awarded for the construction of 3 new schools in
Liverpool as part of Mayor Joe Anderson's Schools Investment
Programme.
A report to the Cabinet on Friday, 16 May 2014, is recommending that new
homes for Northway Primary School in Childwall and New Park Primary
School in Kensington are built by Morgan Sindall at a cost of £5.5
million per school, and Willmott Dixon constructs Archbishop Blanch
Church of England High School for £17.5 million.
It forms part of the £169 million Liverpool Schools Investment
Programme, devised as a rescue package following the scrapping of
Wave Six of Liverpool's Building Schools for the Future (BSF)
project, and one of the Mayor's key pledges.
Both primary schools have reached the end of their natural life and
are deemed to be unsuited to modern teaching methods, with
classrooms that are undersized and insufficient quality space for
teaching. Northway is more than 80 years old with the highest
backlog of repairs of all primary schools in Liverpool, while New
Park does not have a grass playing field at present. Both schools
will be rebuilt on the playgrounds of their existing sites.
Archbishop Blanch will move from its old and outdated building on
Mount Vernon Road near the City centre to a new purpose-built site
on Earle Road, off Smithdown Road in Picton. It has been earmarked
because it is in close proximity to the existing school and has good
transport links. It will educate 900 girls aged 11 to 16 and have a
mixed 6th form.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:- "This is a much needed
investment in three schools which desperately need it and is part of
my commitment to deliver at least 12 new schools for pupils in the
city.
The new buildings for will be a tremendous boost for thousands of
present and future generations of school children and ensure they
get the most out of their learning. We are working with
construction firms to make sure as much of the money is spent
locally as possible and benefits the workforce in the city."
Archbishop Blanch head teacher Jane Griffiths said:- "We are
all greatly excited by having the chance to plan a new building from
the ground up, enabling us to create a brilliant, modern learning
environment for our students."
Northway Primary School head teacher Paul Anderson said:- "As
the plans have progressed for our new school, so the excitement has
grown. Being actively involved in the process has helped us
appreciate that this is a once in a generation opportunity, to make
a significant difference for current and future Northway pupils".
New Park Primary School head teacher Karen Hutchings said:-
"Every member of our school community is thrilled at the prospect of
a new building. It really will enhance learning even further
and bring our facilities into the 21st century, and all of the
children and staff are so excited and can't wait to watch their new
school go up."
A target has been set for 80% of the sub contract spending on the 2
primary schools to go to Liverpool firms with 95% of the budget
spent with firms across the City region.
For Archbishop Beck, it is
hoped 60% will be spent in Liverpool and 70% in the wider area.
Work will start later this year on all
3 schools and they are
expected to open in September 2015.
A separate report to the Cabinet updating progress on the Schools
Investment Programme shows that 10 of the schools will either be
completed or on site by September 2014 and 111 apprenticeships have
been created so far.
'Cigs in
fruit' smugglers jailed
3 men behind one of the
largest ever single hauls of smuggled cigarettes found in the North
West have been jailed this week.
The 16.5 million illegal cigarettes, hidden in a consignment of
fruit, were seized by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers in the
Rochdale area in December 2011. Anthony Peter Bower, 51,and Neil
Michael Pickering, 36, from Rochdale were each jailed for more than
3 years, while Phillip Steven Hughes, 45, from Penygroes, South
Wales was jailed for 24 weeks, suspended for 2 years. They were
arrested at the time of the seizure and all pleaded guilty to the
crime, which was worth an estimated £3.2 million in evaded excise
duty. Sandra Smith, Assistant Director,
Criminal Investigation, HMRC, said:- "Tobacco-related fraud is
estimated to cost the UK economy £2 billion a year in lost revenue.
Don't let criminals profit;– report it. The evasion of excise duty
on tobacco products is a criminal offence. If you are caught you
will not only have your goods seized, but you may also face
prosecution and investigation of your personal or business finances.
Anyone with information about the storage or sale of illegal tobacco
in their area should contact the Customs hotline on 0800 59 5000."
The illegal cigarettes were uncovered at an industrial unit in the
Castleton area of Rochdale. They were imported as "fruit",
with a large quantity of oranges and kiwi fruits used as a "cover
load" in an attempt to conceal the smuggled tobacco.
HMRC officers also seized 3 vehicles and over £69,000 in cash.
The seized cigarettes were recycled as fuel pellets and used to fuel
the national electricity grid.
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