The League of Friends at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, worked tirelessly to raise the cash for the Rocky Appeal, raising money for three state-of-the-art keyhole operating theatres on-site.
The money collected by the 95-strong band of voluntee
rs raised through their charity shop, cafe, displays of local artwork, raffles and other social events has boosted the appeal total to £340,000.
Fund-raisers now face the challenge of raising a massive £9,603 a day if they are to ensure the three futuristic theatres are ready for action when the £256m rebuild of Queen Alexandra Hospital is complete next July.
The League of Friends donation has been hailed by appeal organiser Mick Lyons, who presented the group with a special Rocky Appeal shield in recognition of their efforts.
Mr Lyons said: 'It's a tremendous bonus to receive such a large sum of money from another voluntary group within the hospital and will bring us a step closer to achieving our goal of improving the lives of patients who need major surgery.
'We now need the world and his wife to help us get these theatres up and running.'
Surgeons will be able to carry out up to 12,000 operations a year using high-definition surgery cameras on patients with conditions ranging from hernias to bowel cancer in the new theatres.
Patients' hospital stays will be shorter and instead of open wounds, they will go home with tiny holes and much smaller scars. They will recover quicker and get back to work sooner. The centre will be the only one of its kind in the south east and one of just a handful across the UK.
League of Friends chairwoman Mary Sheppard said: 'Everybody here is committed to the hospital and we will do whatever we can to support each other and improve patient's lives.'
The full article contains 335 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
