June 30th 2023
£40,000 raised for the John Radcliffe Children’s Hospital
One of the highlights of the term is the annual charity event The Summer Lunch, which was held on Tuesday and this year was organised by Laura Deacon, a parent with sons in Years 3 and 1. Each year The Summer Lunch supports a fantastic cause and this year the event was fundraising to purchase an Intraoperative ultrasound probe for the Paediatric Neurology department of the John Radcliffe Children’s Hospital.
Guests enjoyed shopping at a wide selection of high quality stalls, many new for this year including Tooka, Wovenology, Spots and Stripes, SoSouk , Me encanta, Bunks, Dundas London, Bushbells, Sian Esther, Go Emu, Oarsum, Dilly Dally, Ledbury Press, House of Bluebelle, Kaho, White Coco, Bridie and Bert, Grace and Eden, Turnbull and Hooch, Beaver Pots and Pink Pheasant.
A coffee van and shopping were open from 10am, and judging by the amount of shopping bags dotted around the hall, many took advantage of the opportunity to buy gifts and unique items. Ten per cent of all takings by the stalls were donated to the charity so guests could shop guilt-free!
Just before the delicious lunch provided by Emma Nettleton, guests heard from paediatric neurosurgeons Jay Jayamohan and Amedeo Calisto. Their emotive and powerful talk certainly reminded guests why they were there and we were grateful that they could give up their time. After lunch Richard Goulding, an actor who has starred on stage and screen, quite often as Prince Harry, lightened the mood with his hilarious self-deprecating stories!
Representatives from the charity attended the event and sold hundreds of raffle tickets as well as encouraging more bids on the silent auction. There were some phenomenal lots on offer including a stay at a South Africa safari lodge, unique hotel breaks, signed sports memorabilia and some ‘money can’t buy’ work experience placements.
We are delighted to announce that over £40k was raised this year and this incredible amount will enable the hospital to fund three pieces of equipment. A representative from the charity sent the following message:
“Your generosity is funding three specialist ultrasound probes to further enhance the work of the paediatric neurosurgery department.
Intraoperative ultrasound gives a real time image of the brain during surgery. It enables the surgeon to see the tumour they are extracting, the surrounding precious brain matter and ensures that they have successfully removed everything they intended.
Thanks to technological advances, the surgeon can now plot an incredibly accurate and narrow route through the brain to the tumour, however, the smaller and more detailed this surgery becomes, the smaller the tools that are needed to help the surgeon during the operation.
The first two specialist probes that you have funded are not standard equipment and are specifically designed for this type of highly precise and detailed surgery. I was once told that the greatest gift you can give to a surgeon is vision, and that is exactly what these probes will provide. The detail they deliver, and their physically smaller size allows the surgeon to insert catheters and to perform needle biopsies, with real time vision, only making a 5p size hole in the skull and a 2mm in diameter hole (the size of a biopsy needle or cannula) in the brain.
The final probe is an incredible handheld device that can be used during ward rounds. Instead of sending a baby or child for an ultrasound in neonatology or paediatric radiology, the consultant can use this device to scan areas such as a babies soft spot on their head and instantly tell if something is wrong. This type of ‘real time’ feedback helps the consultant make the quick and accurate decisions needed for these very young patients and avoids the unavoidable delays associated with physically sending a child to a different department and waiting for results.
Thank you to everyone who so generously supported the Summer Lunch. Your kind support will purchase these incredible tools for our surgeons and ensure that their young patients receive the very best possible care.”
Laura Deacon would like to offer her thanks to the title sponsor The Country House Department for their generous sponsorship and the excellent hessian bags! Thank you also to Property Vision for their support. Thank you also to DASH, Blenheim Water and to Laithwaites for the wine and extremely generous raffle prize from the Wyfold Vineyard. Thank you to Emma Nettleton and her team for the delicious lunch and excellent service. Thank you to Conference Craft for the screens and all the technical support and to the wonderful Oxford hospital charity who were so fabulous on the day. Enormous thanks to Jessica Lovett design for the beautiful brochures. Thank you to the groundsmen at Moulsford who were absolute stars helping sort stalls, tables and everything in between. Thank you to Moulsford School, in particular, Sarah, Sam and Laura for their advice and support and the venue! Lastly, an enormous thank you to all of the amazing people who donated such fantastic raffle and auction prizes.
