Rhyannon Boyd, Head of RUHX explains why The Forever Friends Appeal has now rebranded as RUHX:
“Alongside our new name and updated logo, this fresh new look and feel will help us stand out from the crowd, share what we do with a wider audience, and gain greater support than ever before. That means better care for our patients, more advanced developments at our hospitals, and bigger events for all our amazing supporters.”
What makes RUHX special?
“At RUHX, we’re more than a hospital charity. We go further to give every patient the extra extraordinary care they deserve, while supporting our staff to do what they do best and furthering innovation within our hospitals. We’re out there in our community, collaborating with the people and organisations who drive real change. And we’re making sure that every penny we raise goes towards improving health, happiness and wellbeing for everyone in Bath and beyond.”
Why have you changed?
“We’ve spent a long time thinking hard about who we are, why we’re here and what we want to do to help our hospitals provide even more extra extraordinary care. Although we loved our connection with Forever Friends, after listening to our supporters we felt it was time to give ourselves a refresh that reflected what makes us special.
“Our new look and feel is fun, exciting, and eye-catching – all the things that will help us show the world we’re here to make a difference and change lives for the better.”
Why did you change your name to RUHX?
“We’ve changed our name to RUHX to capture the extraordinary commitment and exceptional generosity of our fundraisers and donors that gives us the power to do more.
“The ‘X’ in our new name is designed to focus people’s attention on the ‘extra’. The extra extraordinary work the Royal United Hospitals (RUH) can do with our support. These are projects like the Breast Unit Expansion, Compassionate Companions for our End of Life team, or our arts programme helping to provide activities on the children’s and older people’s ward that are not funded by the NHS. The ‘X’ also highlights what happens when people work together for our cause, the health and happiness of our community in Bath and beyond.
How does the new Breast Unit Expansion give patients more space to breathe?
“We are extremely proud of this £1million project funded by our charity, thanks to 850 generous supporters. We created an extraordinary space which includes a new waiting area, dedicated treatment room, consultation room and courtyard garden. We wanted to give patients space to be able to take a moment of calm when they receive the sudden diagnosis of breast cancer. We’ll also shortly be building an additional dedicated breast ultrasound room and enhanced radiology reporting room.
“Charly McNelis and her daughter Phoebe were invited to cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony. Charly was treated for breast cancer at the RUH and said: ‘I recall the diagnosis emotions; shock, confusion, being overwhelmed and struggling to process the information. The physical space that you are in whilst going through this does have an impact.
‘You need a sense of space to breathe and think in, and run away to. That’s why the changes at the Breast Unit, the openness and space that have been created, especially with the option to be outside within the courtyard, will hugely benefit anyone’s mental ability to process the sudden and unexpected cancer curve ball which has invaded their lives.’”
What are RUHX’s plans for the future?
“We’re really looking forward to what’s coming next, and we would love to have you on the journey with us. Visit our website, ruhx.org.uk, sign up to receive our regular e-newsletter to keep up to date on all our news and success stories, or check out our exciting upcoming events.”