Breast cancer charity opens £390,000 waiting area at KGH following 20 years of support that raised millions for local patients
An amazing new £390,000 waiting lounge and adjoining landscaped garden for breast care patients was officially opened at Kettering General Hospital today (Friday, December 15) thanks to the Crazy Hats Breast Cancer Charity.
The new area – which will support about 10,000 patient visits per year - marks the end of a fundraising journey for the Crazy Hats Appeal which has spanned 20 years between 2001 and 2021 when the charity formally closed.
Over that time it raised more than £1.4m for Kettering General Hospital and a total of £3.5m for breast care locally.
Glennis Hooper is the appeal’s founder, executive fundraiser, a breast cancer survivor herself, and former Kettering head teacher. She said: “This is a momentous day for us and for all the local people who have supported Crazy Hats over our 20 years of fundraising.
“This new waiting lounge and garden is our largest ever single donation. It has enabled us to work with the hospital to design and create a wonderful calm, quiet, and relaxing, place for patients, who may be feeling very anxious and stressed, to wait for their appointments.
“When the Treatment centre opened in 2007, and we made an initial donation of £100,000, an outdoor courtyard area was available, but was rarely used, and soon became ‘tired’ and unkempt.
“It was at an appointment in 2018 that I realised the whole area needed to be ‘spruced’ up and so began the process of seeing our dream to create a new area.
“Trustees and members agreed that the waiting area needed to be bigger, the reception area opened up and the environment made to feel more welcoming and relaxing.
“Some five years later – and here we are! We are very proud and thrilled with the result, knowing it will make such a difference to staff and patients alike …. our legacy! What a wonderful project to work on! “
The official opening was attended by former breast cancer patients and Crazy Hats fundraisers along with Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Northamptonshire, Prof Simon Gregory MBE, Kettering Mayor, Cllr Emily Fedorowycz, KGH Chief Executive Deborah Needham, Consultant Oncoplastic and Aesthetic Breast Surgeon, Mr Salam Musa, and other members of the hospital’s breast service team.
Former patients and Crazy Hats supporters delighted by the new area.
Claire Wilson from Raunds was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2013 at the age of only 26.
She was successfully treated for her cancer both at Kettering and Northampton general hospitals, has received emotional support from Crazy Hats, and raised money for the charity at numerous sponsored walks in Wicksteed Park.
Mrs Wilson, 37, who is married to Luke and has a four-year-old daughter Jessica, said: “It was a huge shock to be diagnosed with breast cancer at such a young age and at the time my cancer was the size of a tennis ball.
“I had successful chemotherapy which shrunk the cancer down to an inch and it was then removed by a surgeon at KGH followed by radiotherapy at NGH and follow-up drug treatments.
"Crazy Hats supported me at the time and I went on to do fundrasing for them. It was an amazing chairty that has done so much for breast cancer patients including buying equipment for the hospital and providing much improved facilities.
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“The new waiting area and garden is a fantastic final contribution. It will be so different from just staring at four walls and worrying about what is next. It will help patients to feel welcome and looked after.”
Shirley Davies, 62, from Higham Ferrers, received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2011. She then had six sessions of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and breast reconstruction at KGH. This was followed by radiotherapy at Northampton General Hospital in 2012.
Shirley, who is married to John, and is a heating company administrator, said: “In between my diagnosis and surgery I met Glennis at a Crazy Hats coffee morning and I got involved in fundraising.
“I then helped out in many different ways baking cakes, attending fairs and fetes, and recruiting support from friends, family and work colleagues. I also was a model at a Crazy Hats fashion show in October 2015 and got involved in the Crazy Hats choir.
“I think the new waiting area and garden is a great idea. It will be a good distraction for patients who are waiting and wondering about what is going to happen. Going to hospital is not something you would look forward to doing but at least having a nice environment will make it that bit easier.”
Kettering General Hospital’s Consultant Oncoplastic and Aesthetic Breast surgeon, Mr Salam Musa, said: “The Crazy Hats Appeal has supported our breast service in so many ways over the last 20 years.
“For example they have bought us special x-ray machines, diagnostic probes, equipment used in breast reconstruction, and, in 2007, donated £100,000 to set up a café and decorate the Treatment Centre where we are based.
“This final donation is a magnificent one and it has helped us vastly improve the waiting experience of our patients and created a beautiful new extension to our breast care service.”
Kettering General Hospital’s Chief Executive, Deborah Needham, said: “I am proud and delighted to see the fantastic new waiting area and garden which the Crazy Hats Appeal has gifted to this hospital.
“It was a project where we all worked together to design and build an area that would enhance and support our patients in a positive way.
“I want to personally thank Glennis, who has become a very valued friend over the last few years, and of course thankyou to her team also - and everyone who has ever taken part in Crazy Hats events or contributed to the appeal over the years - for the amazing things they have done for our hospital.”
The new lounge and waiting area was built by infilling a small outside quadrangle area in the centre of the Treatment Centre. Building work started in November 2022 and was completed a year later.
Glennis said: “I would like to thank our ex-trustees, members, friends, supporters of Crazy Hats and the many, many, individuals and companies who have been so loyal and generous. Also Kettering General Hospital’s Chief Executive, Debbie Needham, and her team, for their time and commitment to this unique project.
“I would also like to reiterate my heartfelt thanks to the remarkable and loyal Crazy Hats team who stood behind me to make everything happen. It certainly was an incredible 20 years!”
The charity said it has been a privilege to work alongside the Project Management Team at KGH and all other personnel involved, especially Stepnell’s, the Contractors, and Bosworths Garden Centre who designed and landscaped the garden. Also local artist, Claire Mycock, who has commissioned bright and calming pieces of work which adorn the lounge walls and add to the overall ambience of the build.
It would also like to thank the Northamptonshire Healthcare Charity for its administrative support and advice in bringing the waiting area and garden project to completion - including an additional donation of £15,000 for artwork and furniture. For more information on the charity’s support for local health services see: https://northamptonshirehealthcharity.co.uk/
Glennis added: “PS look out for quirky characters positioned around the garden and the unique water feature that was personally chosen by my best friend and co-founder, Marilyn Clapham, before she sadly passed away in November 2022.”
You can read more about the incredible and inspiring work of the Crazy Hats Breast Cancer Charity and that of Glennis's memoirs in her recently published book: ' Glennis Hooper: She's One Crazy Lady". Available at £19.95 by contacting Glennis (glennis.hooper@btinternet.com) or by purchasing a copy from Magazine Heaven at Rushden Lakes or Jeyes the Chemist (Earls Barton)"