Yorkshire Children's Hospital Fund relaunches as Luma Foundation
Leeds businessman Alex Duckett becomes Chair as the charity sets a £500,000 goal for robotic surgical technology for children's and neonatal wards.
A surgeon operating robotic surgical equipment · Photo: Navy Medicine / Unsplash
The Yorkshire Children's Hospital Fund has relaunched as Luma Foundation, with Alex Duckett, Managing Director of workspace provider Gilbanks, as its new Chair. Alex takes over from Jo Ropner, His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, who remains a trustee.
Alex's connection to the cause is personal: his daughter received life-saving surgery at Leeds Children's Hospital. "We owe so much to the Leeds hospitals and medics, and I felt compelled to get involved," he said.
Luma has set an ambitious target of £500,000 to purchase advanced robotic surgical equipment for children's and neonatal wards. The technology enables more complex operations, shorter time under anaesthetic and faster recovery, and will transform training for hundreds of trainee surgeons in Leeds.
These funds will enable us to purchase the latest robotic equipment. It allows more complex surgeries than keyhole procedures, and when coupled with AI, progress can be made at unprecedented rates.
Mr Naved Alizai, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at Leeds Children's Hospital and Luma trustee.
