Senne Lammens, Ayden Heaven, Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton have all shown their support for the Manchester-based campaign
Tom Heaton of Manchester United warms up prior to the Premier League match between Manchester United and Bournemouth at Old Trafford
Tom Heaton is among the stars publicly backing the appeal(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
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A group of Manchester United players have shown support for the charity appeal backed by Freddie Flintoff to raise £1.1m to build a cinema for hospitals in Manchester.
Senne Lammens, Ayden Heaven, Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton are the latest to support the appeal organised by Manchester Foundation Trust to raise money to build a cinema for hospitals in the city. They join the likes of Mason Mount, Wayne and Coleen Rooney, actress Jennie McAlpine and cricketer Jimmy Anderson, who have already shown support for the campaign - which has now raised more than £250,000.
The appeal to raise £1.1m to build a new MediCinema in Manchester was launched earlier this month by Manchester Foundation Trust Charity, fronted by former cricketer Freddie Flintoff, which raises funds for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s family of ten hospitals.
Visualisation of proposed MediCinema design, Manchester Royal Infirmary
This is a visualisation of the proposed MediCinema at Manchester Royal Infirmary
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The objective is to raise enough money to bring big-screen magic to thousands of patients at the Trust’s Oxford Road Campus, including Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary. Delivered in partnership with charity MediCinema, the project will create a fully accessible 50-seat cinema at no cost to the NHS. The £1.1m appeal will fund the build and initial running costs, providing patients with a vital therapeutic escape during long or frequent hospital stays.
The MediCinema plans to transform an unused lecture theatre into a purpose-built space featuring: cinema-style seating room for wheelchairs, hospital beds, and medical equipment subtitles, audio description and sensory-friendly screenings.
Up to 260 films a year will be shown, supported by MediCinema nurses and trained volunteers, with capacity for personalised screenings for patients in particularly sensitive circumstances. MediCinema opened a facility at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool in November of last year. The opening was marked by an exclusive early screening of the film Moana 2, which put smiles on the faces of dozens of sick kids.
In a post on Instagram, Manchester Foundation Trust shared a video of the Manchester United players issuing messages of support for the campaign.
Captioning the post the charity wrote: "Thank you so much to @manutd players @aydenheaven @senne_lammens @tomheatongk @ugartemanu for sharing support for our MediCinema Appeal! Help us to make a fully-accessible cinema for our hospitals on Oxford Road Campus a reality - click the link in our bio to learn more and donate."
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Local families have also now shown support for the campaign. Among those also backing the appeal is mum-of-two, Hayley Evans, 28, whose two-year-old son Marley’s health journey began when he was just eight weeks old after she noticed he was having difficulty breathing and making seizure-like movements.
Recognising the signs of epilepsy, Hayley sought urgent help at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH), where six-month-old Marley was diagnosed with the disorder and started treatment. He was later also diagnosed with pharyngeal dysphagia with silent aspiration, severe reflux, asthma and respiratory problems.
Hayley said: “At first, it was terrifying, watching your baby struggle for every breath is something you never forget. For a long time, our life revolved around two-to-four-week cycles of hospital admissions for Marley’s breathing difficulties, feeding problems and infections.
“I learnt how to spot the warning signs and to deal with what was happening. In a way, I became desensitised to it, I think it was a way for me to cope.”
Since then, Marley has required around 17 admissions to the hospital’s High Dependency Unit and numerous other RMCH wards. In August, he underwent gastrostomy surgery to fit a feeding tube.
Hayley added: “Life with Marley’s conditions can be challenging. He began tube feeding at six months old. We must be very careful about where we go - things like soft play or toddler groups just aren’t possible because of the infection risk. Marley picks up viruses easily and often ends up back in hospital needing oxygen. It makes it difficult to plan family days out due to the level of care that he requires. I can sometimes feel judged by other parents who might not understand his condition.”
The care Marley has received at RMCH has now inspired his family to support the appeal, to help other patients who spend long periods in hospital experience moments of normality and joy. Hayley said that the onsite cinema would be transformative for young patients like Marley, providing them with the opportunity to relax and socialise away from the ward.