Freddie Flintoff lends support to £1.1m drive for Manchester’s first hospital cinema
Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff and his wife Rachael have thrown their weight behind a £1.1m appeal to create Manchester’s first in hospital cinema, a project designed to transform the experience of patients facing long stays in care.
The planned 50 seat cinema will be fully accessible and purpose built to welcome patients of all ages, including children receiving treatment at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. It will be equipped to accommodate wheelchairs, hospital beds and essential medical equipment, ensuring no patient is excluded from the experience.
Speaking in a video shared on social media, Flintoff said reaching the fundraising target to deliver the MediCinema at Manchester Royal Infirmary would feel “almost like a Christmas present for Manchester”. He added that the facility would make “such a difference to thousands of patients each year, especially those in for a long stay”.
Freddie Flintoff lends support
The Manchester MediCinema Appeal was launched earlier this month by the Manchester Foundation Trust Charity and has already raised more than £300,000. Flintoff described the early progress as “a fantastic milestone”, crediting hundreds of donors from across the city for their generosity.
“It’s so wonderful and inspiring to see the community band together to support such an important cause,” he said, urging supporters to keep donating so the full target can be reached by the end of the month.
A spokesperson for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that donations will fund both the construction and initial running costs of the cinema, which will be delivered in partnership with BAFTA award winning charity MediCinema.
The cinema will be created inside a former lecture theatre at Manchester Royal Infirmary and will be open to patients from all trust sites on the Oxford Road campus. Plans include cinema style seating, inclusive features such as subtitles and audio descriptions, and sensory friendly screenings.
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Up to 260 films a year are expected to be shown, supported by MediCinema nurses and trained volunteers. There will also be capacity for personalised screenings for patients in particularly sensitive circumstances.
Kathy Cowell, chair of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said the organisation was “so very grateful to the hundreds of individuals, groups and businesses who have got us this far, particularly at such a busy and expensive time of year”.
The appeal has attracted wide backing from across sport and entertainment, including Wayne Rooney, Coleen Rooney, comedian Jason Manford, and players from Manchester United Football Club, among them Senne Lammens, Ayden Heaven, Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton.
Organisers hope the groundswell of support will carry the appeal over the line, delivering a space where films can offer comfort, distraction and a sense of normality to patients when they need it most.
