A WOMAN who says the Christie Hospital saved her life is backing the campaign to get back the £6.5m it lost in a banking collapse.
Ilse Splaine was given three weeks to live when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 21 years ago. Doctors at her local hospital said there was nothing they could do, but her husband Bob insisted on a second opinion and she was moved to the Christie.
She underwent 18 months of gruelling, experimental chemotherapy and has been cancer-free ever since.
Ilse, who has raised £60,000 for the Christie, said: "Everyone who raised that cash wanted to help towards research and treatment for others - that is where it belongs and that is why it should be returned.
Take part in our online partition
here
"It is a very special hospital, I am just one of the hundreds of people who would not be around now if it wasn't for the doctors and nurses there.
The Christie lost £6.5m - mainly charity cash from fundraisers - that it had invested in the Icelandic bank Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander, which collapsed last year.
Bosses tried to get their money back through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme but were refused.
They have now pledged to take legal action to overturn the decision.
The MEN is backing their efforts and more than 5,500 people have already signed our petitions calling for the money to be handed back.
Labour and Liberal Democrat groups have pledged to raise the issue in the Commons and Phil Woolas, the immigration minister and MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, has called for common sense to prevail.
The lost cash was for two new radiotherapy centres in Salford and Oldham.
Tweet
Showing comments 1 to 1 and replies | View All
Red Paddy (16/03/2009 at 06:55)
Exactly, the money belonged at Christies and should have been spnt on keeping people alive, on things like Sutent which people are digging into their life savings to afford just to stay alive. As for wanting the money 'returned' well from where exactly? Nobody is witholdingit. It has gone, disappaered in teh collapse of this bank, so there isn't any money there to return.
Christies do a marvellous job and have helped save lives of two of my relatives whilst others have been taken by cancer, but I am sorry but they put the money in a rsiky account. This lady raised £60,000 and they should be aware of the sacrifices that people have made and put it in government bond or some othe safe account - not in of shore accounts. I know soemone who lost money in an Icelandic account and he said he knew it was a risk but the interest they were offering was too good to turn down. Now he wishes that he put it in a normal bank account of government bonds. He was hoping to make £1000 in interest but now has lost the lot.
This situaition at Christie's is unfortunate but the public raised this money, the invested badly and now wnat the public to pay them again (through tax).