On Wednesday July 5th CRY hosted its annual Parliamentary Reception at Westminster as part of its Raising Awareness Week.
We were delighted to welcome newest patron David Walliams to the Reception. The ‘Little Britain’ comedian, having just completed his fantastic channel swim in a little over 10 hours, attended the event to raise awareness of CRY’s work in preventing Sudden Cardiac Death.
The event was attended by more than 50 MPs who came to show their support for CRY’s campaigning.
Other guests at the event were CRY supporters / families; CRY Surgery Supporters Club members; CRY Patron Simon Halliday; former football professional Andy Scott; representatives from event sponsors Philips Medical Systems; medical professionals; representatives of sporting organisations; CRY office and screening staff – and many others.
The event was hosted by Dari Taylor MP, Dr Vincent Cable MP and Tim Loughton MP, and was the key event in CRY’s Raising Awareness Week.
During the evening CRY revealed an important new initiative that was made possible due to some very successful fundraising undertaken by Simon Halliday. CRY will be providing a 3-year grant of £180,000 to fund research by Dr Mary Sheppard, an expert cardiac pathologist who specialises in Sudden Cardiac Death syndrome.
These funds will allow her to gain access to 700 hearts that have been retained for indications of Sudden Cardiac Death, which is often undetected during a post mortem.
There were a number of speakers at the event, including Andy Burnham MP (Minister of State for Delivery and Quality at the Department of Health); Dr Roger Boyle (National Director for Heart Disease); Dr Mary Sheppard (Consultant Pathologist, Royal Brompton Hospital); Alison Cox (Founder and Chief Executive of CRY); David Walliams; and several others.
CRY Chairman Professor Greg Whyte introduced each of the speakers.
The Reception was heralded as a great success by those who attended, and it was a compelling reminder of CRY’s various initiatives, and the importance of CRY’s work.
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| Andy Burnham MP Minister of State for Delivery and Quality at the Department of Health [click here to listen to Andy Burnham’s speech] |
Tim Loughton MP Co-host of the Parliamentary Reception [click here to listen to Tim Loughton’s speech] |
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| Annette Brooke MP Speaking on behalf of co-host Dr Vincent Cable MP [click here to listen to Annette Brooke’s speech] |
Dr Roger Boyle National Director for Heart Disease [click here to listen to Roger Boyle’s speech] |
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| Simon Halliday CRY Patron [click here to listen to Simon Halliday’s speech] |
Dr Mary Sheppard Consultant Pathologist [click here to listen to Mary Sheppard’s speech] |
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| David Walliams CRY Patron [click here to listen David Walliams’ speech] |
Alison Cox CRY Chief Executive [click here toAlison Cox’s speech ] |
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| Jeff Morland CRY Supporter [click here to listen to Jeff Morland’s speech] |
Dari Taylor MP Secretary of the CRY APPG [click here to listen to Dari Taylor’s speech] |
