CELEBRITIES are joining forces to back a campaign urging George Osbourne to help fund a new children’s accident and emergency department in Southampton.
Stars including Little Britain comedian Matt Lucas and actors like Lisa Faulkner, Eric Close, Lorraine Cheshire and Angela Griffin are backing the Daily Echo’s Say Yes George campaign.
The campaign is calling for the new department to be built in Southampton General Hospital and has been spearheaded by celebrities Sarah Parish and James Murray from the Murray Parish Trust.
Now the couple, who live in Alresford, have received support from their most famous friends as they took to social media to give the campaign a boost.
It comes after we revealed we would be supporting the £4.8 million plans to create the children’s accident and emergency trauma department providing tailored care for youngsters instead of them having to use adult A&E services.
But before the funds can be raised, those behind the project need the government to agree to match-fund cash locally - which is why we have launched the campaign to persuade the chancellor to “Say Yes” and invest £2 million from the government.
James Murray said: “The Murray Parish trust is hugely grateful for all the love and support from its high profile friends, social media obviously plays a huge role in creating awareness which will hopefully then convince the chancellor that our cause is justified.”
As previously reported, Mr Osborne told parliament there was a “strong case” for the new department, following a question from Southampton North and Romsey MP Caroline Nokes asking him a question in the House of Commons.
The new department, hoped to one day be part of a complete multi-million-pound children’s hospital, would feature a state-of-the-art, eight-bed observation area, 11 glass fronted and soundproofed cubicles, and on-hand X-ray facilities.
Our campaign aims to follow the example of an appeal that raised £3 million for the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for children in London. The GOSH campaign saw the Treasury match-fund £1.5 million raised by Londoners to hit a £3 million target.
What you can do to help:
To help persuade Chancellor George Osborne to agree that the Treasury should match fun money raised locally towards a dedicated Childrens A&E Department at Southampton, you can make a difference by: Write or email your MP calling on them to support the campaign.
Send the Daily Echo a video of you, your family and friends saying Say Yes George for us to include on our website appeal to the Chancellor: newsdesk@daileycho.co.uk or upload via our site.
Email us at the Daily Echo with your stories of how you have had to use the Accident and Emergency Department at Southampton General Hospital perhaps as a child patient yourself or to help your own children and why you believe a dedicated Childrens Department is a must.
Contact the Daily Echo’s health correspondent Maxwell Kusi-Obodum with your story and comments at: maxwell.kusi-obodum@dailyecho.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here