In recent years, the Charity Hospital has seen more cases of rectal bleeding for under 50s from the Canterbury area.
“This younger group of patients has shown to have increasing issues including bowel cancer over recent times. The hospital, which sees patients who can’t be seen in the public system regularly detects significant abnormalities including cancer in this age group and we are saving lives,” says nurse specialist Anita Tuck.
In addition to the growing need for endoscopy services, other free surgical services are all leading to more patients being seen by the charity.
“This is further necessary since the hospital increased its eligibility to the whole of Canterbury, including Timaru and the West Coast,“ says Carl Shaw, executive officer.
The demand has led to a further expansion of the site which now extends from the original Harewood road site and now down Leacroft Street. As well as freeing up more surgical space in the original buildings the two linked buildings have created an enhanced patient services reception, areas for its large workforce of volunteer staff and overnight volunteer accommodation.
“The move will provide a more comfortable experience for all visitors to the hospital, patients and volunteers alike,” says charge nurse Averill Williamson.
The hospital was opened and rededicated to the community on Friday 16 December 2022 by Mayor Phil Mauger and hospital patron Sir Jerry Mateparae, followed by a Christmas function for guests and many of its 250 volunteers who regularly work at the hospital.
The Canterbury Charity Hospital provides a range of free surgical, medical and dental services, along with counselling. They do not receive any Government funding and rely entirely on the generosity of their volunteers’ time to reduce their annual operating costs from $2.8 million to around $950,000 a year.
Patron Sir Jerry Mateparae, Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger, Archdeacon Mark Barlow and Charity Hospital chairman Phil Bagshaw at the opening.
The Christchurch Town Hall’s Limes Room was recently transformed into a Roaring 20’s Ball to raise funds for the Canterbury Charity Hospital.
Everyone had an awesome time dressed up in their 20’s finery and danced the night away to the music of local band The Mule.
MC Mark Hadlow flew in for the evening and was joined by auctioneer Phil McGoldrick who was in charge of the live auction which featured an E-bike, Crusaders jersey and MediaWorks advertising vouchers.
We were honoured to have All Black legend and Crusader Richie Mo’unga speak at a function for local lawyers and accountants at the Charity Hospital. There was a question and answer session hosted by trustee Richard Smith followed by a presentation by chairman Phil Bagshaw about what’s been happening at the hospital.
The Chalky Carr Trust was established by Kevin ”Chalky” Carr in the face of terminal pancreatic cancer to make a positive and practical difference for those impacted and bound together by cancer.
Since then the Trust has raised well over half a million dollars and completed several projects including a $100,000 trust fund for a little girl who lost her mum to cancer; Chalky’s Chairs – specialist oncology chairs at Christchurch Hospital; Chalky’s Cars, a taxi service for those undergoing cancer treatment and Chalky Carr Scholarships to support tertiary students at the University of Canterbury, Ara and Lincoln University who have been affected by cancer.
Chalky’s legacy continues with the Trust’s latest initiative to raise $100,000 for the Canterbury Charity Hospital which provides bowel screening for those under 50 years who have been referred to the public system but not met the criteria for public investigation. Stuff reporter Jo McKenzie-McLean, who has stage four bowel cancer, gave the keynote address at the recent Chalky Carr Trust Party at Te Pae about the difficulties accessing bowel screening after she had symptoms that warranted further investigation. In New Zealand, younger patients have limited public access to investigation due to resource limitations and a more stringent set of criteria.
The fundraising started with Nic Gill, Sam Whitelock and Brad Mooar rode Wattbikes in a 24-hour marathon in MIQ. Together with the recent event at Te Pae, the Chalky Carr Trust is proud to have raised over $100,000 for the charity hospital’s bowel screening service.
From left to right: Chalky Carr Trust patron Gemma McCaw, Jo McKenzie-McLean and Trustee Dr Sarah Carr at the Party at Te Pae.Image courtesy of Chalky Carr Trust .
The Charity Hospital team is very grateful to the Melbourne-based medical orchestra, Corpus Medicorum, who performed in Christchurch to raise funds for the hospital. It was an amazing concert and was greeted with enthusiasm by the audience. A stand-out was the solo by guest cellist Catherine Kwak who is also a first year doctor at Middlemore Hospital. Thank you to Phillip Antippa and Corpus Medicorum orchestra for your generosity.
It costs over $18,000 a week to run the Canterbury Charity Hospital and we rely almost entirely on donations from the public. Click here to make a Donation today
If you are having issues making a donation, purchasing tickets or buying Sylvester books, email Rosie Graham at the Charity Hospital at rosie@ccht.org.nz
