Scannappeal Supporter Newsletter Autumn/Winter 2020

Supporter Update Autumn/Winter 2020

Every heart matters: support our new Cardiac Appeal Make a will, make a difference with our free will service 30,000 local patients will benefit from new equipment Fundraising ideas for everyone

Registered Charity No. 296291

Hello and a warm welcome To say 2020 has been an unpredictable year would be an understatement but I hope you are all are staying fit and well. I am very proud our local community continues to support the work we do and it is truly humbling we can carry on fundraising in such challenging times.

Hello and welcome

I'm thrilled we have completed the Breast Biopsy Appeal and the equipment is already installed and being used by local patients. I am also excited to share with you we are launching a new Cardiac Appeal to fund the latest technology in heart scanning, the single most powerful tool available to cardiologists – see opposite page.

William taking part in our 2.6 Challenge - April 2020

With very best wishes and thanks for your continued support.

Willam Baxter CBE, Chair

Fundraiser spotlight

Meet David who in May 2019 was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer.

“Having initially had a blood test which showed no signs of cancer, I was given a CT scan a few days later which revealed the bad news. In the 12 months that followed I underwent a stent procedure, emergency bowel surgery, 8 cycles of chemotherapy, open surgery and a course of radiotherapy. I have never been far from my next CT or MRI Scan and now that I have made a full recovery, I owe my life to these machines. Not only did they help the doctors to make a diagnosis, but assisted them in providing me with the treatment and surgery. Scanners will also play a major role in monitoring my condition going forward. I wanted do my bit to help this very important cause which will continue to save many lives for years to come.” On 13 September David set off on a virtual London to Brighton cycle ride, completing the 60 mile distance in 3 hours and 40 minutes with the help of two Oasis albums, Match of the Day and a little bit of Taylor Swift. David raised an incredible £1,815 for our Bucks MRI Appeal and we are so very grateful – well done David.

Small charity making a big difference

With your help we have achieved incredible things, making a dramatic impact on patients' lives across the county.

Over £700k spent on equipment in Bucks (April 2019 – March 2020)

Over 3,000 MRI scans carried out on the new MRI scanner at Wycombe to date

Community midwives across the entire county equipped with jaundice meters

Breast Biopsy Appeal equipment already in use and making a difference

Get in touch - Happy to hear from you scannappeal.org.uk

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01494 734161

bht.info.scannappeal@nhs.net

Scannappeal Office, Amersham Hospital, Whielden Street, Amersham, HP7 0JD

Follow us

@Scannappeal /Scannappeal

Every heart matters

Cardiac Appeal Every

heart

Our new ÂŁ125,000 appeal will support the cardiology department at Wycombe hospital by funding the single most powerful tool currently available to cardiologists. At the heart of this appeal is a dedicated cardiac ultrasound system which matters generates detailed, real time moving images of the heart. This allows clinicians to assess the structure and function of the heart in patients with coronary artery disease, valve disease, heart failure, congenital heart disease and stroke.

Clinicians can obtain incredibly lifelike images which improve the accuracy of diagnosis even in the most difficult of cases. This, in turn, helps the surgeons decide the best way in which to repair the heart. Most significant is TrueVue with virtual light source (similar technology is used in Pixar animation to produce more realistic 3D characters) which creates improved visualisation of cardiac structure making it easier to identify the location of defects. Detailed observation of tissue and 3D ultrasound imaging will enhance diagnostic confidence by providing exceptional images with greater clarity, sharpness and, most critically, in a much quicker time.

The cardiology department is delighted that Scannappeal has launched an appeal to raise money for the innovative and ground breaking new scanner, the EPIQ CVx. Having technology of this calibre on site will make a huge difference to patients from right across Buckinghamshire, coupling faster scanning times with greater diagnostic confidence. It will also allow the cardiology team to provide our surgeons with more accurate information, which, in turn, will help with planning complex heart surgery.

Dr Soroosh Firoozan, Consultant Cardiologist

EPIQ CVx

The Facts Around 78,000 people are living with cardiovascular and circulatory disease in Bucks

Over 10,000 heart scans are carried out in Bucks each year

Every 6 hours someone in Bucks will die from heart disease or circulatory disease

Virtual light source creates improved visualisation of cardiac anatomy

Exceptional image quality with greater clarity and sharpness

Echocardiography is vital for some Covid patients as the virus attacks the heart in 25% of patients

Generates real-time moving images of the heart and in quicker time

Ultrasound doesn’t expose patients to harmful radiation

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Appeals update With our final fundraising goal in sight we are pleased to share news with you that work has begun at Stoke Mandeville hospital in preparation for delivery of a state of the art scanner in February 2021.

Hello and welcome

Providing this second scanner for Stoke Mandeville has become especially urgent as our dedicated NHS colleagues continue to face unprecedented times. Work to provide scanning for the many hundreds of patients whose appointments were postponed earlier this year due to the worrying effects of COVID-19, together with the usual urgent demand on their service to support diagnosis and treatment, means the need for this new scanner is now even greater. We are hopeful, subject to the site remaining open and completion of our appeal, that the scanner will be operational by March 2021.

The Wycombe scanner, installed in January of this year, has massively improved the patient experience and we were pleased to receive the following feedback from the radiology team: "Compared to our old scanners patients are finding the new MRI scanner much easier to undergo, the scanning room is more inviting due to the ambient lighting and reduced noise.

Patients are benefitting from a more comfortable position and the ability to carry out more complex MRI imaging is both exciting and of huge benefit. We are looking forward to the installation of the second scanner which will further enhance our service for patients living in the local area."

Can you help us reach the final £100,000 needed to complete this appeal?

Your support has never been more important than right now.

Best for Bucks Appeal

In July of this year we launched the Best for Bucks Appeal, a fund that enables Scannappeal to prepare for future equipment needs within our local NHS hospitals. Prior to opening this appeal, supporters without a strong affiliation to a particular department or hospital, would often ask that their donation be used where we felt it was most needed and the Best of Bucks Appeal provides just that.

Donations to the Best of Bucks Appeal will enable us to react quickly to often urgent needs to purchase lifesaving medical equipment straightaway, benefiting local patients much quicker.

Additionally, by having funds readily available, it can be used to give new major appeals a stronger financial start meaning state of the art medical equipment can be in place quicker, helping to diagnose and treat patients in Bucks faster and crucially helping to save more lives.

Our ambition is to ensure our local hospitals are well equipped, enabling diagnosis and treatment to be accessible locally, including the return of services which may not currently be available within our hospitals– we want the best for Bucks.

“We are immensely grateful to supporters of Scannappeal who help bring cutting edge medical equipment to our Buckinghamshire hospitals. Technology has advanced greatly in recent years and our clinicians are thrilled to be able to use equipment which undoubtedly improves diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for our patients. Future projects in partnership with Scannappeal will make a huge difference to our clinical teams and to patients across the whole of the county.”

4 Neil Macdonald – Chief Executive, Buckinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust

Helping 30,000 local patients Thanks to the overwhelming support of our local community, we are absolutely delighted that the Breast Biopsy Appeal has reached the target of £350,000.

Hello and welcome

The appeal was launched in October 2018 and since then we have seen individuals, businesses, charitable trusts and local organisations all show amazing support. We have held our frugal fashion events, film screenings, quiz nights and painting parties. You have held bingo nights, paddock car displays and fitness challenges. Thank you to each and every one of you who has shown support for this appeal, we are staggered that in less than two years we have reached the target.

Your support means that the integrated breast unit at Wycombe hospital now has a second fully equipped, dedicated biopsy suite with 3D mammography technology. The equipment was installed in August and is already being used on patients to carry out targeted biopsies which will diagnose very small cancers at an early stage.

New breast biopsy suite

Dr Vaishali Gada, Consultant Radiologist, said: "Providing the very best care for our patients is at the heart of what we do. We are so thrilled that we now have a state of the art, dedicated biopsy suite that will improve the patient experience so much. We are very grateful to those that supported this appeal and made this happen for the breast department so quickly.

You have, and will, continue to make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of patients for years to come, thank you.”

Kirsty and Fin's marathon in a week Last December, eleven years after her first diagnosis of breast cancer, Kirsty Shanahan had a mastectomy and reconstruction when cancer returned to the same breast. In recognition of the value of speedy access to scans in the early diagnosis and treatment of her cancer, Kirsty chose to support Scannappeal by running 6k a day to complete a Marathon in a week.

Kirsty said, “Without the scanning equipment provided by Scannappeal at our local hospitals, the breast unit would not have picked up my cancer so quickly, and this early diagnosis meant I could have surgery within three months of me finding the tumour. It’s not just cancer screening and scans that their equipment provides, the list goes on and on and I wanted to be able to show my support because their funding is crucial to helping to save lives in Buckinghamshire.” Kirsty decided that she wanted to join the #passthebaton campaign and so recruited her son, Fin, to get involved after her challenge was over.

Fin said, “To be honest, mum shoehorned me into the challenge because football, school and PE were cancelled. She felt I needed something to get me exercising. I did the marathon in a week challenge because I love my mother very much. I would have missed her if Scannappeal hadn't equipped Bucks NHS Trust so well that they picked up her cancer quickly and got rid of it, twice.”

Such an inspirational family, thank you for supporting Scannappeal and raising almost £1,000.

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Ways to support us Santa Sunday - 13 December 2020 Why not kick start the festive season by taking part in our brand new Santa Sunday? Dress up in your favourite festive outfit and dash around your local park; hit the treadmill at the gym; set off on a weekend walk or set a challenge to complete from the comfort of your own home. You choose the distance 3k, 5k or with some added festive fuel maybe you can reach a more challenging total of 10k or more. Don your Scannappeal Santa Hat which we will provide, decide on what time of day you want to set off, and then challenge your family, friends, neighbours or work colleagues to take part too – you could even organise a Santa relay.

Entry fees are £9 per adult and £5 per child, or register before 31 October to take part as a family of four for £25.

If you raise over £50 in sponsorship you will receive a special Santa medal. To find out more or to register visit: scannappeal/events/scannappeal-santa-sunday

Christmas Wishes If Christmas wishes came true what would be your festive wish for friends, family and loved ones this Christmas? Or perhaps you have a special wish for staff working within our local hospitals and their fellow key workers who have worked so hard to care for our local community? This year you can complete a ‘Scannappeal wish’, which will be displayed on our special tree from 4 December at Wycombe hospital.

It’s a really easy way to share a heartfelt message and you can support Scannappeal too by making a suggested donation of £5.

Christmas Wishes Christmas shopping that gives back Christmas shopping from home is likely to be the norm for many of us this year but it is also a very simple way to support Scannappeal. The two options most popular with our team (not suggesting for a moment any of us are shopaholics) are: Easyfundraising - as the name suggests a very easy way to shop. Once you are logged onto www.easyfundraising.org.uk select Scannappeal and visit retailers including John Lewis, M&S, Argos, Just Eat, Boden and so many more. After you’ve completed your purchases, the retailer will make a free donation to Scannappeal – it doesn’t cost you a penny extra.

Amazon Smile - by using smile.amazon.co.uk, rather than the normal Amazon site, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your net purchase to Scannappeal.

Same products, same prices, same service you can just support Scannappeal at the same time! Login to smile.amazon.co.uk using your normal Amazon login details.

Worried you have nothing to dress up for this Christmas? Well think again with our Dress up December fundraiser, which encourages you to ditch your ‘lock down’ lounge wear and pull out your party wear in support of Scannappeal. Head to the office or simply pick a day in December and encourage your friends and family to join you too with a virtual party to add some much needed sparkle to the end of the year.

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Are you looking for a challenge? Maybe you are in need of an adventure or simply just want to put a date in your 2021 diary and have something to look forward to? Signing up to a challenge event means you can do just that and support Scannappeal at the same time.

Hello and welcome

For 2021 the annual Scanna Skydive day is back, we are hopeful that our ScannaRide 100 will return and we have partnered with Ultra Challenge to offer some UK based adventures just for you: Jurassic Coast Challenge When: 15-16 May 2021 Where: Dorset

Cotswold Way Challenge When: 26-27 June 2021 Where: Cotswolds

Scanna Skydive When: 11 July 2021 Where: Brackley

ScannaRide 100 When: July 2021 Where: Bucks

Thames Path Challenge When: 11-12 September 2021 Where: London

Chiltern 50 Challenge When: 25 September 2021 Where: Chilterns

For more information contact the fundraising team on 01494 734161 or visit scannappeal.org.uk

Scannappeal Trustee takes on triathlon Keith Wilson, Deputy Chair of Scannappeal, completed the Blenheim Palace Triathlon and raised just under £6,000! Keith shared his experience: “Training for an event that was meant to happen in May but was delayed to September should have meant that this Blenheim Palace Triathlon was easy, but it still felt hard. My target was to complete it within 2 hours and this was achieved with 1 minute and 15 seconds to spare. It was great during lockdown to have a focus and this is such a well organised triathlon even in these Covid times. I had great fun and raised just short of £6k for Scannappeal which went towards the MRI scanners.”

Text 2 Donate

Did you know one of the easiest and quickest ways to support Scannappeal is by simply sending a text?

£10 DONATE

Donate to Scannappeal from your phone by texting the word SCAN to 70085 followed by the amount you would like to donate - e.g. to donate £10 send the text SCAN10 to 70085.

Texts cost the amount you would like to donate plus one standard rate message and you’ll be opting in to hear more about our work and fundraising via telephone and SMS. If you’d like to donate but do not wish to receive marketing communications, text SCANNOINFO followed by the amount you would like to donate to 70085 - e.g. to donate £10 send the text SCANNOINFO10 to 70085.

Surrender your pennies

Has the move to contactless left you with a pile of pennies?

It may seem that no one wants your pennies these days but here at Scannappeal we do!

We are asking supporters to surrender their pennies and make a donation to Scannappeal. 7

Fundraising family Sandra's wing walk Some called her crazy, some called her wild, but we like to call her BRAVE! Sandra Barnett recently took to the skies on her first ever wing walk in aid of our Bucks MRI Appeal. Wing walking had been on Sandra’s bucket list for many years but she hadn't had the courage to take on the challenge until now. Sandra raised over £1,150 and we are incredibly grateful to her and all who donated.

Vitality Big Half Huge thanks to Jo Chaplin, Dr David Walton and Dr Prakash Patel who took part in the Vitality Big Half Marathon and raised £1,375, well done team.

Team challenge Local accountancy firm, Seymour Taylor, who have supported Scannappeal for over 30 years set a team challenge to travel 500 miles between them using any form of exercise running, cycling or walking, over a 5 week period. The team completed 1,503 miles and raised £520.

Rotary thanks Thank you to the Rotary clubs of Amersham, Beaconsfield, Cookham, Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter and Princes Risborough who have collectively given £4,000 towards some specialist MRI safe anesthetic equipment for the new MRI scanner. This is for patients who need to be mildly sedated in order to remain still to have a scan, which includes some children and those with dementia.

Happy Birthday Eva Our most senior volunteer, Eva Scattergood, recently celebrated her 98th birthday, Happy Birthday Eva! After 20 years of knitting babywear for us she has hung up her needles but passed the mantle onto her daughter Susan – a very worthy successor. Susan has been busy through lockdown and completed 40 matinee jackets.

Paul and Howard's virtual Great North Run Thank you so much to Paul Woodstock and his pal Howard Elson who raised just over £1,000 by doing a virtual Great North Run and walking 13.2 miles along the Grand Union Canal.

Paul runs local theatre company, The Luvvies of Ley Hill, who normally put on a production each year from which Scannappeal would normally benefit. As they haven’t been able to do that this year, Paul and Howard thought this was a great way to continue to support the charity.

Facebook Fundraiser

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Thanks to Louise Higham, Ron Mann and Yas Davani who chose to raise money in lieu of birthday gifts this year through Facebook raising £390. If you would like to consider dedicating your next celebration to Scannappeal, why not hold a Facebook Fundraiser?

Thank you

Thank you

Open Gardens with a difference With the 2020 Open Garden season cancelled due to Covid 19, some of our wonderful home heroes thought of other ways to keep the season blooming.

Hello and welcome

Christine and Colin have been Scannappeal volunteers for many years.

They were due to open their beautiful garden for us, so instead of cancelling, they decided to open it virtually and Christine took visitors on the grand tour.

Julia, Sue and Sandra had been growing plants for our planned Open Garden season. So with all the plants starting to look lovely they decided to put a table outside their own homes and together they made nearly £300.

Avid supporters and keen gardeners, Alan and Elaine, opened their wonderful garden for us once again this year and raised £350. Visiting was done by calling in advance and guests were able to enjoy the tranquillity and beauty that their garden offers in a safe environment.

Walk of thanks

Charlotte Taffel pledged to walk 200km and raised nearly £1,000 as part of her ongoing rehabilitation.

Charlotte said: “Without our local hospitals, I wouldn’t be able to walk today - they have given me the best treatment ever and I wanted to do something to help raise funds for the Bucks MRI Appeal. As part of my rehabilitation I have to walk every day and so I thought why not raise some money as part of the plan?”

Julia's plant sale

GreenAcres Father's Day Event

Our friends at GreenAcres Chiltern hosted a Virtual Father’s Day Event which was streamed on Sunday 21 June raising nearly £200. Father’s Day can be an incredibly challenging time if you are grieving, coupled with the Government guidelines restricting people to come together, so the event was a special way to still mark Father’s Day.

Scanna Skydive Elizabeth Aley, a cardiac physiologist at Bucks Healthcare Trust, took on the challenge of jumping out of a plane from 10,000 feet and raise nearly £600. Every day Elizabeth uses equipment funded by Scannappeal and wanted to get involved to support our fundraising.

We were delighted to see the smile on her face despite the nerves!

Share your story

We are looking for individuals who would like to share their experience of how equipment purchased by Scannappeal has made a difference to them or their loved ones. These stories highlight the importance of how our fundraising saves and transforms the lives of those who benefit from our revolutionary medical equipment and encourages others to support our work. If you are interested in sharing your story or for further information please get in touch.

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FREE will writing service Writing or updating a will is often on a ‘to do’ list, something to think about or discuss with your partner or family when you have time but so easy to keep putting off.

Hello and welcome

Writing a will is the only way to make clear your personal wishes and ensure your loved ones are taken care of. At Scannappeal we firmly believe loved ones come first, but you may also feel able to leave a gift to a charitable cause close to your heart.

Scannappeal have partnered with Farewill to help make writing or updating your will as easy as possible and we are pleased to offer our supporters the opportunity to claim a FREE WILL (RRP £90). This offer is valid until 30 November 2020.

Farewill provide simple online wills that you can update at any time. To complete your will online or over the phone follow these simple steps: Visit our dedicated web page at www.farewill.com/scannov

To make your will over the phone, visit www.farewill.com/scannappeal-phone to book an appointment. Alternatively, you can call Farewill on 020 8050 2686, remembering to state that you are a Scannappeal supporter at the start of the call.

If you need any help, there is live chat and phone support from 9am to 7pm, seven days a week, meaning you can even write your will at weekends. Once you've finished, one of Farewill's will specialists will check it over within five working days.

When your will is ready, you can download, print and sign it with two witnesses to make it legal.

Writing your will with Farewill includes one year of free, unlimited updates and the option to pay £10 per year thereafter to update your will at any time.

By using the Farewill free will offer you are under no obligation to leave a gift to Scannappeal, however if you feel able to, your gift however large or small, will help us to fulfil our vision of continuing to fund advanced medical equipment for Buckinghamshire NHS hospitals.

Our legacy promise to you: *We promise that your wishes will be administered in a professional and sensitive manner. *We promise your gift will be used wisely to directly benefit NHS hospitals and patients in Bucks.

We understand writing a will is a private matter, but if you would like to let us know about a planned gift to Scannappeal we would love the opportunity to thank you.

Anne's Story "Being a nurse shaped my life from 1956 when I first started my training; I carried the kidney that was used in the first kidney transplant in the world in Edinburgh in 1960 and joined the Royal Airforce Nursing Service treating injured soldiers and prisoners of war in Yemen. My late husband and I both benefitted personally from the wonderful care of the NHS and both had many scans, which is why I wanted to support Scannappeal. The royalties from my recently published book ‘Don’t Drop It Nurse’ will be donated to Scannappeal during To purchase Anne's book visit my lifetime, but I wanted to do more and that is why I have spoken to my pegasuspublishers.com family about leaving a legacy to Scannappeal. My wish is that royalties and can also be from my book will continue to be given to Scannappeal in perpetuity and so purchased on Amazon benefiting patients in Buckinghamshire for many more years to come."

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Shop, sell and support In August we were delighted to reopen all of our bookshops.

Each shop has been rearranged to be safe for customers and volunteers, including perspex screens at the counter and a new ‘tap to pay’ system (sponsored by Heart of Bucks) will soon be in operation to make payment even easier.

Amersham has been given a makeover and we are awaiting delivery of new bookcases, funded thanks to a legacy gift.

We expect to be up and running by the end of October but in the meantime the doors are open for our pop up shop.

We're particularly pleased to reopen the doors of our newest shop at Stoke Mandeville. The shop is fresh and bright, and being based within the new Oasis café (to the right of the main patient/visitor entrance and near the Spinal Unit) means you can pop into to see us and grab a coffee and cake.

Despite the greatly reduced footfall at Wycombe hospital the bookshop doors remained open throughout lockdown, taking over £1,000 from March through to June.

THANK YOU to Little Chalfont Knit and Natter group who have been knitting in lockdown in support of Scannappeal and Yvonne Hanna who has produced some wonderful washable cotton masks now on sale at Amersham.

Christmas face masks coming soon!

Ziffit – scan, sell and support.

Did you know you can turn unwanted books, CDs and DVDs into donations for Scannappeal?

Ziffit is a free online service, which instantly values books, games, DVDs, CDs and the value can be donated directly to Scannappeal. Visit www.ziffit.com

New - shop with us on eBay. Buy or bid from our selection of high quality donated items including, collectible books, designer brands and antiques.

Did you know you can choose a percentage of the proceeds of your sale to go to Scannappeal and what's more, eBay will reduce your basic insertion and valuation fees too. To find out more visit www.charity.ebay.co.uk NEW Volunteer Role Opportunity. Could you help coordinate our eBay project moving forward?

The role will involve helping to prepare items for sale including research and photography, listing items and packing to send to buyers. Please contact Anne on 01494 734161 for a full role profile.

Thank you doesn’t seem enough to express the extent of our gratitude to all our volunteers. Whilst it remains frustrating to us all that we can’t be fully reunited we are grateful to everyone for keeping in touch and offering support where they can.

Special thanks to: Penny, James and David who set up and manned our first collection since March; Ursula W and Anne H for cleaning and preparing books ready to fill the shelves of our reopened book shops and the full book shop team who, whilst eagerly awaiting a full return to normal, are helping us to ensure the shops are clean and welcoming.

Can you help? We need help selling Christmas cards this year and reaching groups of people who may not want to visit a hospital or shop to purchase. Would you be willing to approach your personal network of friends? We can supply leaflets and examples of cards for you to share.

Festive Stamp Appeal – as cards arrive this year please don’t forget to snip and keep stamps, remembering every stamp has a value to Scannappeal!

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Challenge yourself in 2021 Jurassic Coast Challenge 15-16 May 2021

Cotswold Way Challenge 26-27 June 2021

Scanna Skydive 11 July 2021

ScannaRide 100 July 2021

Thames Path Challenge 11-12 September 2021

Chiltern 50 Challenge 25 September 2021

Find out more about these events on page 7 or visit our website scannappeal.org.uk