Business News


Sponsored by: Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council


Concerts in the Park


By Simon Ward Leader, Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council


Last summer around 10,000 people enjoyed a weekend of high-quality music and cultural activities in the beautiful surroundings of Sutton Park, headlined by the CBSO. I am pleased to announce


that Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council is once again producing a weekend of Concerts in the Park for 2018. The Concerts, which will


take place on 30 June and 1 July, are an important opportunity for the Town Council to show leadership in the arts and to present Sutton Coldfield as a diverse and vibrant town. I am delighted that the CBSO will return to this year’s event. Our programme will also reflect the talents of the residents of our Royal town, with performances by community choirs and musicians, and create opportunities for local businesses. Tickets will be on sale for


residents in Sutton Coldfield in March, and on general release in April and more details can be found on www.suttoncoldfieldtowncoun cil.gov.uk/concerts or via the Town Council Facebook page. The weekend in 2017 was a


great success and we hope to build on that this year so that the Concerts in the Park is the high point of the summer in Sutton Coldfield.


If a working partnership with the Town Council would benefit your business and the local community, please contact me simon.ward@suttoncoldfield towncouncil.gov.uk


16 CHAMBERLINK March 2018


Pioneering clinical centre reopens after £3.4m expansion


By John Lamb


Fifteen years ago, if you were given the awful news that you had leukaemia, you probably faced months of agonising treatment to give you a chance of surviving. Today, in some cases, you take a


pill. One man who has played a


leading role, internationally, in this progress is Cure Leukaemia co- founder Professor Charlie Craddock (pictured below). He and his clinical colleagues at


the Centre for Clinical Haematology (CCH) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital will now be able to save more lives as a result of the opening of expanded facilities at the centre, which was funded through the collaborative efforts of Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP), Cure Leukaemia and the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), which runs the CCH. The blood cancer charity, also


based in Birmingham, has been at the forefront of raising money to advance global understanding and treatment of the disease and its efforts in 2017 were rewarded when the CCH re-opened in January this year after a £3.4m expansion. And now Cure Leukaemia has


received massive support, nationally, from Deutsche Bank, who have large offices in Birmingham. Chosen from a poll of 10,000 employees, and up against over 90 other organisations, Cure Leukaemia was successful in becoming one of the bank’s two charities of the year 2018-19. Cure Leukaemia has a target to achieve £2m in fundraising during the two- year partnership.


The Cure Leukaemia campaign


was supported by several high- profile personalities, including Gary Lineker, Matt Le Tissier, Glynn Purnell, Adil Ray and Gareth Southgate. The charity also had great support from the business community through Andy Street, Neil Rami, Chris Loughran and our very own Paul Faulkner. The partnership with Deutsche


Bank launched in January 2018 and in the coming months employees will have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of fundraising activities. Many staff will have the option of payroll giving throughout the two years and in September, Blood Cancer Awareness Month, staff will be encouraged to donate a day’s wages on the biggest fundraising campaign of the year, ‘One Day.’ Paul Anderson, managing


director of Deutsche Bank Birmingham, said: “The Centre for Clinical Haematology is emblematic of Birmingham’s nascent status as a global centre of excellence in a number of fields, professional services included. “Here at Deutsche Bank, we’re


looking forward to our two-year partnership driving the research forward, and of course putting on a series of events for the patrons and members of the Chambers to find out more and help raise funds for this great cause.” The centre was established in


2006 and has since treated over 10,000 patients, run more than 60 ground-breaking clinical trials and leveraged over £30m of free drugs that otherwise would not have been funded by the NHS. Cure Leukaemia made a


commitment to raise an additional £1m last year to ensure the centre’s expansion was fully funded. This will now allow the treatment


‘The expansion will allow the continued growth of our world-class clinical trials programme, ensuring


Birmingham will continue to lead the global


fight against all forms of blood cancer’


Opening day at the CCH (L-R): Professor Charlie Craddock, co-founder of Cure Leukaemia; West Midlands Mayor Andy Street; patient Jenna Ostrowski, Cure Leukaemia chief executive James McLaughlin and patron Geoff Thomas


numbers to grow as well as creating jobs and support inward investment into Birmingham’s thriving life sciences sector. Professor Craddock said: “The


expansion will allow the continued growth of our world-class clinical trials programme, ensuring Birmingham will continue to lead the global fight against all forms of blood cancer. “It will immediately increase the


number of lives saved and will speed the process towards establishing effective treatments for all blood cancers within 25 years.” The expansion has provided:


• Capacity for 20,000 patient treatments every year


• Two additional clinic rooms • Two more phlebotomy chairs


• Increased infusion capacity by another 24 chairs


• Clinical facilities under one roof to provide increased inpatient care


Cure Leukaemia chief executive


James McLaughlin, said: “Our £1m Centre Appeal was a considerable undertaking for a team of just five employees and I am thrilled that we were able to raise the necessary funding for this vital development. “The support we received from


trusts, foundations, major donors, corporate partners and all our fund-raisers emphasises how passionately people feel about this improved facility. “I thank everyone who


contributed as every penny will go towards making a potentially life- saving difference to patients battling this cruel disease.”


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