Four of our team will be getting on their bikes for a 200km cycle ride this weekend to help raise funds for our Robot Appeal – and for two of them it will be the second long-distance fundraiser in three weeks.
The James Paget Hospital Charity is currently looking to raise £1.6million to fund a new surgical robot which will allow complex surgeries to be performed, by our surgeons, with more precision through small incisions, using enhanced three dimensional vision. The robot will be used across specialties including colorectal surgery, gynaecology, general surgery, upper gastrointestinal surgery, urology and ears, nose and throat and is expected to have benefits for patients including reducing the length of stay in hospital and reducing post-operative complications.
To help raise the money to fund the robot, many of our staff are undertaking fundraising activities, and three of our surgeons – Carl Philpott, Vamsi Velchuru and Christopher Liao – are joining one of our Divisional Operations Directors – Jonathan Harrowven - to take part in a day-long 208km (129 mile) ‘Double Dutch, Infinity Beckons’ cycling event which will take place in the fens on Saturday, 8 April.
The cycle ride starts from Huntingdon, touring March, Kings Lynn and Spalding before returning to the start. It is a flat tour of the fens with waterways, bulb fields and windmills on route, with participants starting off at 8am and expected to finish the course by 9.30pm.
For two of our surgeons Vamsi and Chris it will be the second fundraiser for the Robot Appeal in three weeks after they, and other colleagues from the hospital, successfully completed the Blickling Half Marathon on March 19.
If you would like to support Carl, Vamsi, Chris and Jon’s fundraising efforts to help us reach our target you can visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chrisliao
Or please contact our Charity team by calling 01493 453348 or emailing Charity@jpaget.nhs.uk
Our photos show Chris, Vamsi and Jon with their bikes outside the front of our hospital, Carl wearing one of the charity T-shirts; Vamsi and Chris at the Blickling Half Marathon and the two surgeons with Maxine, our Charity Manager.
