Staff, patients and guests have celebrated the official opening by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, of the new RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre at the RUH in Bath.
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall with John Cullum, Chairman at Forever Friends Appeal | Photo © Paul Gillis / RUH
The Duchess, President of the Royal Osteoporosis Society and Patron of Versus Arthritis, was given a guided tour of the new £20m purpose-built building during her visit yesterday, Tuesday 22nd October, and shown some of its facilities, including the hydrotherapy pool, specialist treatment areas and physiotherapy gyms.
James Scott, Chief Executive of the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We were delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness here again.
“She has a long association with the Trust as well as being a former patron of the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases.
“The Duchess is a great supporter of our work and we were very proud to show her the wonderful new facilities we have created here.”
The Duchess was accompanied on her visit by Trust Chair Alison Ryan. She was introduced to local entrepreneurs Andrew and Christina Brownsword, whose £1m Match Funding Challenge has enabled the hospital charity, The Forever Friends Appeal, to raise £2m towards the overall cost of the new Centre, with every donation doubled by the Brownsword scheme.
The RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre brings together therapies and pain services located at the RUH with many of the services previously located at the RNHRD’s Mineral Water Hospital site, known locally as the ‘Min.’
Uniting staff and services together on one site has been many years in the planning, and the RUH has worked closely with patients and staff to design the best new home for services relocating from the Min.
The Duchess also attended a reception to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Forever Friends Appeal and its raising of over £25m for patient services at the RUH.
Photo © Paul Gillis / RUH
She met with donors and volunteers and unveiled plaques to mark the event and officially open the new centre.
During the reception, The Duchess said: “As a past patron of the Min it’s lovely to be able to come here and see what has been done for the new Centre.
“I’m incredibly impressed by everything – the hydrotherapy pool looked extremely tempting! There seem to be a lot of very happy patients and it has a very welcoming atmosphere.
“I know that all of you here do so much to raise money for this hospital…so thank you for contributing to this wonderful new building.”
