REPRESENTATIVES from a local law firm had a chance to see first hand where some of their charitable donations have been put to use.

The charitable trust of Harrison Clark Rickerbys, a law firm with offices in Worcester, bought a special chemotherapy chair for the mobile chemotherapy unit established by charity Hope for Tomorrow in Gloucestershire, back in 2014.

The unit, known as “Helen”, was the world’s first such unit, bringing cancer treatment close to patients’ homes, cutting travelling and waiting times and reducing the stress of hospital treatments. Run jointly by the charity and the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, it is based at Cheltenham Oncology Unit and travels to the Forest of Dean, Tewkesbury, Stroud and Cirencester each week.

Charlotte Thornton-Smith, head of Harrison Clark Rickerbys’ health and social care team, went to see the unit at an open day and said: “I was delighted to see what good use our donation had been put to – the unit not only supports patients really effectively but also helps hospitals which are under such pressure at the moment.

"The fact that the charity is about to launch its tenth unit of this kind is testament to just how important the service is becoming.”

Charity founder Christine Mills said: “All of us at Hope for Tomorrow are very happy and proud that Helen is helping to reduce stressful travel for Gloucestershire cancer patients for four days every week.

"We’d like to thank all the funders, supporters and volunteers who have gone the extra mile for us to make it possible, and all those who support us to bring cancer treatment closer to home here and across the UK, now and in the future.”