Dyson boost for RUH appeal
Inventor Sir James Dyson is giving £500,000 to the appeal to build a new baby care unit in Bath.
The donation from the businessman whose career began in Bath has given fundraisers at the Forever Friends Appeal the confidence to give the go-ahead for building work to begin.
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Sir James Dyson
The James Dyson Foundation, set up by Sir James and his wife Lady Deirdre Dyson, will be ploughing the money into the planned new neonatal intensive care unit at the Royal United Hospital.
It is the single biggest donation ever received by the appeal, which has set up the Space to Grow campaign to fund the new unit to replace existing cramped facilities for premature and sick babies.
The donation means that the campaign has now reached its last 15 per cent of the fundraising, with just £900,000 to go.
In recognition of the foundation's support the unit will be known as The Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care.
Appeal chairman John Cullum said: "This is an amazing boost to our campaign, enabling the RUH to press the go button to begin the building work."
He said the appeal team was now better placed to raise the final £900,000 within the next few months, with the foundation money coming hard on the heels of increased funding from the RUH NHS Trust for the project.
"We are pleased to say that this very substantial donation follows increased RUH capital investment, acknowledging their commitment to this groundbreaking project, and taking the pioneering ambitions for this innovative sustainable building a huge step closer to completion.
"I would like to express my sincere thanks on behalf of the appeal and the project team to James and Deirdre Dyson and the James Dyson Foundation.
Architects from Bath firm Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios have been working with nurses and clinicians to design a building housing 21 cots using sustainable materials.
Their aim is to come up with an environmentally-friendly unit providing a holistic model of care which will be a model for future NHS buildings.
Sir James, who was given his first break at Bath firm Rotork and who had wanted to set up a design school in the city, said the unit's principles reflected the aims of his foundation, an educational charity supporting science, design and engineering.
He said: "This new unit will improve the care of babies that need medical support and provide more intimate surroundings for their parents.
"As an engineering project, it will lead the way in environmentally sustainable hospital development, and set an example for others to follow.
"Along with the trustees of The James Dyson Foundation, I look forward to seeing the building work start."
The Dyson support started with an initial £50,000 donation, part of which enabled the appeal to fund a feasibility study.
Lady Dyson was today visiting the existing NICU to hear about plans for the new unit.
She will be able to see the new site, which builders have started to clear in preparation for work to begin.
The appeal will now be raising the last tranche of money from a range of sources including individual donations, corporate supporters and public events.
Mr Cullum said: "The RUH is all ready to get the build under way to ensure that the urgently needed new unit opens as soon as possible.
"In the mean time the appeal is still busily continuing its fundraising but really do need people's tremendous support to help us bring the campaign to a wonderful conclusion over the next few months."
For more information on the appeal, visit www.foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk/nicu.
19 Comments
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by Tom Trosborg, Bath
Thursday, March 25 2010, 5:37PM
“Absolutely, James from Widcombe. Presumably you would therefore want everybody who managed to give a fair proportion of his or her disposable time or money to the Forever Friends appeal to be named alongside the rich manufacturer of a vacuum cleaner for this clinic.”
by James, Widcombe
Tuesday, March 23 2010, 5:57AM
“Then again we wouldnt want Bathonians to get a reputation as unwelcoming wingeing ingrates - would we?”
by Paul, Lansdown, Bath
Saturday, March 20 2010, 10:33AM
“Modesty's still a virtue in my corner of England... The John Cullum Centre for Neonatal Care would be a better name. He seems to have worked tirelessly for the cause...”
by Fishy, Bath
Friday, March 19 2010, 7:31PM
“I don't see that it implies any criticism of Dyson to think it odd that an NHS facility should be named after a minority donor. Sure, his generosity deserves recognition but with 90% of the funding coming from elsewhere it is, if nothing else, misleading to call it "The Dyson Centre".”
by Tom Trosborg, Bath
Friday, March 19 2010, 7:12PM
“Dave, on the points you mentioned here we are in total absolute 100% agreement.”
by dave, Larkhall
Friday, March 19 2010, 6:07PM
“Tom, I think you have me mixed up with another Dave. Faith and religion have probably been the cause of more conflict in this world than any other.
Faith in Hitler, Northern Ireland, Jews against Muslims, the list goes on.
As for Blair, depends how many eggs you've thrown at him in comparison to me.”
by Tom Trosborg, Bath
Friday, March 19 2010, 5:23PM
“@Dave, I guess that you and I have contributed about the same amount to Tony Blair's push for promoting faith. I think that both you and I are of the opinion that faith and religion have been instrumental in keeping the world such a peaceful and just place for the last few thousand years.
Do you actually know the names of Bill Gates' 'named' aids projects in Africa, and do you also happen to know what proportion of these projects he is actually funding - for instance, is it more than 10%? You seem to know, and I confess that I don't.
@Graeme - of course Forever Friends would accept £500,000; just as they have accepted very much smaller amounts from legions of people without vast fortunes (and my guess is that these people are not hankering after public approbation, so the big plaque you refer to isn't necessary). Or perhaps you are trying to say that Dyson insisted on the ward being named after himself? Hopefully not.”
by Dave, Larkhall
Friday, March 19 2010, 4:06PM
“Well said Graeme. Isn't it a shame that yet again we are treated to a requirement to 'level down' rather than rejoice at the gifts of success?
Don't recall the same negativity aimed at Bill Gates donating billions to 'his named' Aids projects in Africa, or his previous esteemed leader Blair donating to only one charity, Tony's fund.”
by Graeme, Bath
Friday, March 19 2010, 3:46PM
“Maybe Sir James wants to leave a bit of a legacy, and he's paying half a million quid for the privilege. Maybe he likes customised car number plates too. I really don't care, and I don't see what's wrong with naming the ward after him, seeing as he's the biggest donor. It's just a sign above the door. If everyone else has donated just to get their name on it, put up a really big plaque. But I reckon most people just want to see the ward built.
Are they going to say 'no way Dyson, cough up £10m or nothing at all'? Hopefully not.”
by Tom Trosborg, Bath
Friday, March 19 2010, 2:51PM
“Graeme, briefly: out of every £100 donated, Sir James's foundation will have contributed £10.64. And because of this contribution, just over 10% of the total, the unit will be known as The Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care.
His donation is of course a Good Thing, but is it really necessary to name this unit after him alone? People may get the impression that he actually paid for it, and I'm sure nobody would want that kind of misleading information, do they.”