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John and Mike complete Skye trail trek for The Christie at Macclesfield

A health and safety specialist from Macclesfield and his friend have completed a stunning seven day mountainous walk to help raise £2,260 for The Christie at Macclesfield, smashing their original fundraising target of £750.

John Thorley, owner of John Thorley Safety Consultancy, and Mike Banks a construction manager from Manchester who now lives and works in Skye completed the 79 mile Isle of Skye Trail Trek between Sunday 4 July 2021 and Saturday 10 July 2021 - walking for up to 14 hours on some days.

John’s consultancy is based just five minutes away from the site of The Christie at Macclesfield, currently under construction at Macclesfield District General Hospital.

When it opens in December 2021, the new cancer centre will treat around 1,500 existing cancer patients each year and provide around 46,000 appointments.

Both John and Mike have family and friends who have been treated by The Christie and both know people who have succumbed to cancer including John’s uncle, Philip George Bradley, who sadly passed away in May and his aunt, Joyce Bradley, who died of cancer in 2020.

Speaking about the trek, John said: “I made a pledge a number of years ago to undertake a challenge every year to help raise funds for charity. Cancer affects one and all, either directly or indirectly. Mike and I have both lost loved ones to cancer and we wish to play a small part in raising funds to support the fantastic work that The Christie does.

“The Christie at Macclesfield will be linked to The Christie in Manchester, which is an international centre of excellence. I know how the journey times and the stress associated with having cancer treatment will be reduced when the new centre opens in Macclesfield.

“The challenge was well worth the effort as we experienced some of the most breath-taking scenery in Scotland trekking from Broadford in the South East of Skye to Rubha Hunish in the North, taking in the coastline, walking the Trotternish Ridge (ten summits in one day), and around the Quiraing and through the Glen Sligachan valley with the Black and Red Cuillin Mountains providing a spectacular backdrop.

“We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to those people who sponsored us both and the kind messages people left on our Just Giving page commending the work The Christie does.

John’s business has raised over £10,000 for local and national charities since 2014 through the kind generosity of clients, peers, family and friends supporting annual fundraising challenges.

The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It referred to The Christie as ‘a leader in cancer care’ and ‘a pioneer in developing innovative solutions to cancer care.’ The CQC praised the Trust’s staff which it said ‘go the extra mile to meet the needs of patients and their families’ and that they were ‘exceptionally kind and caring.’ In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country, and one of the top three trusts overall in England.

Pictured - Mike Banks (left) and John Thorley (right).

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