Let’s all hear it for the Duke (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Royal to officially open Bradford Listening for Life Centre

7:59pm Tuesday 13th October 2009 in News By Claire Lomax

The new Listening for Life Centre at Bradford Royal Infirmary will be officially opened on Thursday by The Duke of Gloucester.

The event will be the culmination of years of hard work and fundraising to make the cochlear implant centre – the new home of the Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Service – possible.

The new centre of excellence is helping to transform the lives of profoundly deaf babies, children and adults, from across the north of England, by providing all the services they need under one roof for the first time.

Some of the £1.5 million needed for the state-of-the art centre was raised by the Telegraph & Argus Listening for Life Appeal which was started last year.

Local charity The Ear Trust, started by ENT consultant Chris Raine, to support the cochlear implant service when he introduced it to Bradford in 1990, had already raised £1 million towards the cost of the new centre.

Thanks to the response of the local community, the money began to pour in and the former Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Robin Owens, who made the appeal one of his charities for the year, performed a sod cutting ceremony and later a stone-laying ceremony in July 2008 to get building work under way.

The appeal benefited from legacies and donations from the friends and families of patients and the business community was always been keen to help out with raffle prizes, donations and the sponsorship of events.

People also sponsored stones in the new building, which are still available online at just giving.com/sponsorastone Despite problems caused by the recession, the cochlear implant service moved in to the new building in March.

However, significant funds – about £300,000 – are still needed to finish equipping the centre with the latest in screening and diagnostic technology, to enable profoundly deaf people achieve their full potential.

For more information on The Ear Trust or help raise more money for the Listening for Life Centre contact Breeda Barry on (01274) 364853 or 07815 753677, e-mail breeda@eartrust.org.uk or visit eartrust.org.uk.