Help cement the appeal with another brick in the wall
People are being invited to buy a brick to help complete the new Highland Children’s Unit at Raigmore Hospital which now has a confirmed February opening date.
Construction work is progressing in earnest to complete the new department while efforts are being stepped up in the £2 million appeal launched by the ARCHIE Foundation in conjunction with The Inverness Courier.
With the total now standing at £1.7 million, the appeal board has been joined by several prominent local business people who are helping to push it to its target by Christmas.
An imaginative programme of fundraising is planned, starting with Another Brick In the Wall which aims to raise £100,000 by inviting individuals and companies to sponsor a brick for a minimum pledge of £100. One idea is to create a "yellow brick road" in a garden for the unit.
Jackie Cuddy, board member and manager of the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Inverness, said that 45 of the 1000 bricks for sale had already been reserved by local businesses.
"The concept behind ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ appeal is to give individuals and businesses an opportunity to support the appeal at an affordable level and to allow sponsors to feel a real, physical connection to this new facility which we hope will become the heart of the community and real place of solace for children in the Highlands," Ms Cuddy said.
"With each brick costing only £100, this is a fantastic chance for as many people as possible to get behind us and make this dream a reality."
Ms Cuddy checked on progress on the new unit which involves the redevelopment and extension of the former ward 11. It was previously used for respiratory patients but has now been relocated to the seventh floor in the hospital’s tower block and was also used as a temporary community ward earlier this year.
But with the staff and patients now gone, the contractors Morrison Construction moved in at the start of the month to carry out phases one and two.
It will include the creation of a top-class children’s ward, high dependency unit, triage area, play facilities and a family room and improved facilities such as telemedicine. An outpatients’ unit will be developed as part of a third phase.
"It is fantastic to see work is really starting," Ms Cuddy said. "We are going to be back here in no time seeing it transformed. I think it is going to be absolutely amazing."
David Cunningham, chief executive of the ARCHIE Foundation, said the appeal had enjoyed great support from many people across the Highlands and with the help of the new committee members was looking forward to reaching the target by Christmas.
"It has been very rewarding to see the ARCHIE Foundation act as a catalyst for this very productive partnership of healthcare, local authority, corporate partners, trusts and the public to deliver the new Highland Children’s Unit which will make a genuine difference to a generation of children and their families in the Highlands and Western Isles," he said.
* Anyone wanting to buy a brick should contact Laura Mackintosh, the ARCHIE Foundation's head of fundraising (Highlands, Islands and Western Isles) at Raigmore Hospital, or call 01463 888258, or 07713 167810.
