NELL LAUNCHES EVELINA CHARITY EVENT
Copyright 2004 www.london-se1.co.uk

[ September 27th 2004 ]

Doctors who spend their working week saving the lives of critically ill children have cycled 400 miles in just four days to raise money to equip the South Bank's new children's hospital. All donations go to the Evelina Children's Hospital Appeal which aims to raise £10 million to help provide vital equipment and furniture for the new Evelina Children's Hospital which opens on the St Thomas' Hospital site in 2005.

Cyclists include three children's doctors - Marino Festa, Chris Reid and John Simpson - as well as intensive care technician Terry Fox. The new Evelina Children's Hospital, which will bring together all children's inpatient services at Guy's and St Thomas' under one roof in a state-of-the-art building, is London's first new children's hospital for more than 100 years. Currently children's services at Guy's and St Thomas' - which provide specialist care for youngsters from all over south east England - are scattered across the two hospitals.

Nell McAndrew, model and TV personality, waved the cyclists off on their epic trip at 7.40am on Thursday at Guy's Hospital, where most of the children's wards are currently based. The charity ride finished on Sunday at St Thomas' Hospital, where the new children's hospital is under construction. The cyclists will visit all 20 local hospitals throughout south east England which use the South Thames Retrieval Service - run by Guy's and St Thomas' - to transport critically ill children to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) at Guy's and other London hospitals.