About South Cleveland Heart Fund
South Cleveland Heart Fund was founded in 1995 and is run by volunteers.
It helps the heart unit at The James Cook University Hospital by fundraising to purchase vital equipment and providing essential support to the unit, patients and their families.
Their registered charity number is 1051565.
How you have helped
Thanks to the generosity of the local population South Cleveland Heart Fund reached its £1m target for the upgrade of a MRI scanner – in just 18 months.
The upgrade enables cardiac consultants to carry out state of the art scanning and a full Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) Imaging service, supporting the James Cook University Hospital’s existing status as a regional cardiothoracic centre at the leading edge of heart care advances.
Doctors can now be able to view the moving heart in high definition from any angle and without exposure to X-rays.
It enables them to identify areas of scarring due to heart attacks or heart muscle disorders, in a procedure Dr Neil Maredia, consultant cardiologist at The James Cook University Hospital, described it as being like “putting the heart under a microscope, without the need for an invasive tissue biopsy”.
Providing a a high quality and resilient service
Dr Maredia said the trust was very grateful to the South Cleveland Heart Fund for raising such an impressive sum: “Thanks to their efforts, we have now commenced a major upgrade of our existing MRI scanner, which will bring it up to the latest specifications, allowing us to provide a high quality and resilient service for the region.
“A further portion of the money raised will be used to facilitate the installation of a brand new high-powered MRI scanner which will bring greater capacity to the unit and, with its wider bore, allow us to undertake scans in a greater proportion of the population than was previously possible.
“As well as expanding the clinical service we provide to patients from around the region, these developments will drive an increase in the unit’s research activity, with the aim of improving our understanding of heart disease and its future management.”
Thank you
Adrian Davies, chairman of South Cleveland Heart Fund, said it was down to the hard work of the whole committee and donors that the fund had reached its latest target in such a short space of time.
“The SCHF committee, who are all volunteers, received invaluable help from the Gazette campaign, Rotary Clubs in our catchment area of 1.6m raised £80k, led by Mike Overy of Middlesbrough Erimus, MFC Charity partnership, Psyche, Acklam and Stockton Rugby clubs, and all the donations from grateful patients and their loved ones too numerous to mention. A massive thank you to all who supported this vital campaign.”
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