NHS charity gets boost of £178,000 to fund life-changing research into heart disease

Bosses at Listers Group Ltd, England’s largest privately-owned motor group, have made the donation of £178,000 to Your Trust Charity, the registered charity of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.

The money will go towards the charity’s Midland Metropolitan University Hospital fundraising campaign and will be used specifically to enhance research and development in the field of heart disease.

The 'super hospital' is currently being built in Smethwick and will house state-of-the-art facilities, whilst serving around 500,000 people.

Dr Derek Connolly, director of research and development and interventional cardiologist at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust said: “We are extremely grateful to Listers Group for their extraordinary generosity.

"Thanks to their support, our trust will be able to host a dedicated research and development post, specifically driving our research agenda into heart disease with Midland Met’s patients.

“Ultimately, the long-term legacy of this work will allow patients in Sandwell and West Birmingham greater access to be enrolled onto a range of research studies, supporting local, world class heart disease research that addresses pressing local population needs. This will unlock life-changing treatments for our patients.”

Heart disease is the biggest cause of mortality in the West Midlands, with the number of patients with coronary heart disease above the national average in both Sandwell and West Birmingham.

Tim Bradshaw, chief operating officer of Listers Group, said: “The Bradshaw and Lister families are delighted to be able to support this new hospital in the West Midlands, where our family and business roots began, and where a number of our 2,000 employees live and work.

“Better heart health and living a longer and healthier life, is vitally important for the area. We are very excited to work with the trust on furthering their research agenda and making Midland Met more than a hospital.”

The “We Are Metropolitan” fundraising campaign seeks to raise £2 million towards added-value activities for the new hospital.

These include projects such as new community spaces and boosting research and development efforts.

Johnny Shah, head of Your Trust Charity, added: “We’d like to particularly thank group chairman, Keith Bradshaw and managing director, Terry Lister for this amazing donation which will change many of our patients’ lives.

“Thanks to Listers Group we are well over halfway to achieving our target for the We Are Metropolitan fundraising campaign. However, we still need the help of local businesses and our community to get to £2 million by the time our hospital opens. We want to make Midland Met more than a hospital, but that can only be achieved if we raise these vital funds.”

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust also runs Sandwell, City and Rowley Regis Hospitals, as well as Leasowes Intermediate Care Centre and a number of GP services.