Slater & Gordon Launch Million Pound Fund

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http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/associate-news/law-firm-slater-gordon-launch-1000000-philanthropic-fund

 

Law firm, Slater & Gordon, launch £1,000,000 philanthropic fund

John Webber says this is ‘a further way of advancing our goal of seeing that our clients receive the best possible treatment’
A new £1million philanthropic fund has today been unveiled to improve the lives of people who have suffered serious work based injury or illness.

Law firm Slater & Gordon has launched the fund for projects to improve treatments and care for people diagnosed with asbestos related diseases, a work related cancer, or who have suffered a catastrophic spinal or brain injury. £500,000 for projects in the UK and an additional $1million AUD in Australia will be provided by 2020.

The fund will support not-for-profit groups, health and rehabilitation organisations and research bodies with grants of between £500 and £12,500 as part of the philanthropic program.

It would also back prevention, education and information sharing projects amongst medical and other health professionals.

John Webber, UK Chairman of Slater & Gordon, said the fund showed the firm’s commitment to improving health and safety across workplaces and the community and to ensure the best possible care and treatment is available when illness and injury has not been prevented.

He said: “We have a nearly 80-year history of advocating for the rights of people who have asbestos and occupation-caused cancer and those with significant injuries.

“We work closely with our courageous clients and see the enormous impact that illness, injury and disability have on them and their families.

“We are proud to advocate for social justice and law reform, and this new philanthropic fund is a further way of advancing our goal of seeing that our clients receive the best possible treatment, support and quality of life.”

Applicants for the Slater & Gordon Health Projects and Research Fund, which is a joint venture between the firm’s UK and Australian businesses, are now being encouraged to apply.

The applications will be assessed by an advisory committee of members from the UK and Australia with extensive expertise in medicine, health, rehabilitation and support.

Mr Webber added: “We are bringing together medical experts; a carers’ advocate; a nurse consultant specialising in care of people suffering with asbestos-related diseases, and importantly, a senior social worker with two decades of experience in the care and support of people with spinal and brain injuries.

“To be successful, this level of investment needs an expert committee to help guide funding decisions and to make sure the relative merits of applications are well assessed.”

The committee includes a number of leading medical experts including Professor Dean Fennell, Head of the Lung Cancer Research Programme at the University of Leicester, Mark Wilson, Consultant Neurosurgeon at Imperial College London and Liz Darlison, Consultant Nurse at Mesothelioma UK.

Also on the committee are Dr Fiona Lecky, Clinical Professor at the University of Sheffield and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and Fahed Selmi, Senior Consultant at the Northwest Regional Spinal Injuries Centre in Southport.