CRICKET legend Dickie Bird has visited Barnsley Hospital to see the construction of the new special care baby unit he has helped fund.
Dickie has so far donated £70,000 to the Tiny Hearts Appeal which is raising £1m to pay for the new neonatal unit, and toured the site with hospital chairman Steve Wragg, lead nurse Angela Whelton and matron Ben Dockerill.
The new unit is being constructed alongside the Barnsley Birthing Centre which means babies will not have to be exposed to different environments and different temperature changes, and will not have to be taken in an elevator.
Dickie said: “I am proud and honoured to be involved with Barnsley Hospital Charity’s Tiny Hearts Appeal. I’m delighted to visit the site of the new neonatal unit and see the marvellous progress that has been made. I have already seen for myself the great work of the staff caring for the premature babies and it brought a lump in my throat and a tear to my eye.
“I sincerely hope that everyone will continue to put their hands in their pockets to support this worthy cause and I’m sure it will give people the same sense of pride as I feel to be involved.”
Barnsley Hospital chairman Steve Wragg said: “Dickie is one of Barnsley’s biggest celebrities so putting his name to the appeal has helped drum up even more support from local people.
“We are extremely grateful for Dickie’s very generous donation. This money is a huge step in taking us closer to the £1m total, and our current total for the appeal stands at over £641,000. We will need to continue to our £1m target so we can pay for state of the art equipment such as top of the range incubators, bespoke furniture and the homely finishing touches which will help families on the unit be more comfortable during their time with us.”
The new unit is due to open by the end of this year.
