Cancer charity takes its major £5million appeal to Parliament

Shaun Davies, MP for Telford, hosted the launch of the Lingen Davies Sunflower Appeal in Parliament. The event featured a keynote speech from Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

The £5million appeal is a collaboration between Lingen Davies - a charity launched originally in 1979 to establish cancer services in Shropshire - and the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust as part of the Hospitals Transformation Project. Cancer services are planned to be available in Telford by 2029 and will be created in addition to the existing services and clinics running at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The new cancer centre would make life-changing treatment and support far more accessible for Telford residents, a cause Mr Davies has backed.

Shaun Davies said, “I was proud to stand up for Telford and stand shoulder to shoulder with every volunteer, trustee, and supporter driving this campaign forward.

“Bringing the Lingen Davies Cancer centre to Princess Royal Hospital will transform lives, giving Telford and wider Shropshire patients the care, support, and dignity they deserve,” he added.

The Lingen Davies Cancer Centre in Telford will help address capacity issues across the region – enabling people from Telford to access care and services closer to home, reducing stress and worry of travel. Patients from throughout Shropshire and Mid Wales will benefit from capacity created in the new Centre, meaning patients may be seen and start their treatment more quickly.

Naomi Atkin, CEO of Lingen Davies Cancer Support, said: “Combined with the existing chemotherapy services at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, we will now be providing up to 60 bays for patients across the two hospital sites, that is doubling our capacity which is a vital step as we look to the future.”

Lingen Davies Cancer Support is the primary cancer charity in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, and Mid Wales and is dedicated to making a positive difference to lives affected by cancer.