HRH The Duke of Gloucester has unveiled a plaque to officially open the NGS Macmillan Unit following a tour of the building at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

The unit opened to patients in June 2017 following an 18 month building programme and a £2.5million fundraising campaign, including a phenomenal £1.5million donation from the National Garden Scheme (NGS), contributing to the overall £10million cost of the project.

The Royal visit gave clinical teams, architects, designers, fundraisers and those involved in the project at all stages the chance to talk about their involvement and give their thoughts on the finished project and how the unit has improved cancer services for patients, their families and staff.

Services that have been built into the unit include Haematology, Oncology, Acute Oncology, Chemotherapy, selected Medical Day Case activity, Palliative and Supportive Care. It is home to 21 treatment chairs, two treatment beds and three treatment rooms for chemotherapy patients compared to the eight chairs in the old Cavendish Suite which more than triples the capacity for treatment. There is also a Macmillan Information and Support Centre to help patients and their families through a diagnosis and treatment.

Carly Starkey is the matron for the chemotherapy service, she said: “It’s been such an honour to welcome His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester to our new unit and show him our treatment areas, demonstrating how it has benefitted our patients. Compared to the old unit, which could become very cramped very quickly in terms of space, this new facility is incredible for our patients and staff. There is so much natural light thanks to the huge window space and we’ve had a lot of positive comments from patients about the view across the countryside.

“The environment is more pleasant and we have additional space to set up the various different treatments without disrupting patients. The chairs we’ve brought in are state of the art as well. Our patients were involved in choosing the most comfortable ones which are fully adjustable to suit the individual and we have retractable screens for increased privacy and dignity. We now provide more treatments for more patients in a more comfortable environment which is fantastic for the people of North Derbyshire.”

Dr Roger Start is the Lead Cancer Clinician and led the project from the very beginning, he said: “We needed to address the growing demand for cancer services. Current statistics show that one in every two people born after 1960 will develop cancer within their lifetime which means that our chance of receiving a cancer diagnosis is increasing.

“It was always our intention to build a unit for the treatment of cancer but, with the help of Macmillan and the National Garden Scheme, instead of having what would have been an ordinary building we now have an extraordinary one. Thanks to the considerable sum raised through Macmillan’s campaign we have a building we can be proud of and I’d like to thank everybody who baked cakes, pushed beds, shaved heads and ran, walked and cycled thousands of miles for making this possible. The unit provides exactly the kind of space, natural light and relaxing environment to complement the exceptional care and treatment that our services provide.”

Elaine Wilson, Macmillan Strategic Partnership Manager for the East Midlands, said: “The NGS Macmillan Unit is having a really positive impact on people living with cancer in North Derbyshire. Thanks to the support of our fundraisers who helped us raise £2.5million towards to cost of the new unit, more people than ever before are being treated closer to home in a state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility. The Macmillan Information and Support service has already seen more than 3,000 patient visits since the Unit opened, so that non-clinical needs such as emotional and practical support are being met which is really important as we know that cancer can affect so much more than just your health.”

The Royal visit included a tour of the unit’s clinical rooms, the chemotherapy treatment area, the Macmillan Information and Support Centre and reception. His Royal Highness spoke with staff who work in those areas and patients, hearing about the building of the unit, its design and how the wider community were involved throughout the project, not to mention the incredible efforts of those who raised money for the Macmillan campaign.

Liberal Democrat candidate Tony Rogers has been elected as a Chesterfield Borough Councillor following a by-election in the Moor ward.

The election was held following the death of Labour councillor Keith Brown who previously held the seat.

Mr Rogers won the seat with 532 votes. Labour candidate Ron Mihaly received 445 votes, Conservative candidate Gordon Partington got 84 votes and UKIP candidate Barry Thompson received 69 votes. The turnout was 34.4%.

The result means the political make-up of the council is now:

• Labour – 36 councillors
• Liberal Democrats – ten councillors
• Independent – two councillors

Labour councillor Kate Caulfield, who was elected in the local elections in May 2015 remains the other councillor in the Moor ward. All councillors remain in post until the local elections to be held in May 2019.

A 38-year-old mother of two is using her young son’s recovery from serious illness as motivation when she and her family take on the Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon in October.

Marissa Gaunt, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, will run the 13.1-mile route with her husband Craig in aid of Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice later this year, taking inspiration from their son Brodie’s recovery from a serious viral infection, from which he almost died, when he was just 14 months old.

Brodie, now six, will also be taking part in the event’s 1km Fun Run with his sister Maisey along with other pupils from St Peter and St Paul School in Chesterfield.

The family will be taking part to support Chesterfield Half Marathon charity partner Bluebell Wood, and have signed up to a weekly after-school running club set up by St Peter and St Paul School to allow pupils and parents to train together in the lead-up to the event.

Marissa said: “You always think life is so precious, especially with your children. Being in that situation, it just pulls on your heartstrings.”

“When Brodie was 14 months old he had a viral infection which spread to his brain, and ended up with inflammation on the brain. He spent two months in hospital and had to learn to crawl and eat again.”

“Thankfully he was discharged but the experience will live with us forever.”

“We’re so lucky to have our lives and when we heard about the work of Bluebell Wood, we wanted to support them.”

Marissa and her daughter Maisey take part in a 5km Park Run every Saturday, with Brodie recently joining them after completing his first run in 39 minutes.

The Chesterfield Half won’t be Marissa and Craig’s first endurance event experience, however – the couple completed the Robin Hood Half Marathon in Nottingham eight years ago in 130 minutes, and are aiming to break the two-hour mark this time.

“Anything we can raise will be amazing,” said Marissa.

“I would say we’ll aim for £500 and any more on top of that would be incredible. Once we get started there’ll be no stopping us.”

Lucy Rathbone, Community Fundraiser at Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, said: “It’s fantastic seeing what St. Peter and St. Paul School are doing – with some incredible people and families taking part in their weekly running club.”

“Marissa and her family’s story is a genuinely inspirational one – having been through tough times themselves they’ve come through and are now actively contributing to raising money for a great cause while also keeping fighting fit!”

The deadline to sign up for any of the Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon races is midnight on Sunday 7th October. For more information and to sign up please click here.