Former Paralympic Athlete & TV Presenter Opens New Hospital Service

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Ade Adepitan declares the Jack Emerson Centre officially open

Former Paralympic star and TV presenter, Ade Adepitan, visited the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) in Putney on Wednesday 6 March to chat with patients and open its new state-of-the-art ventilator service, the Jack Emerson Centre.



The new service, which was a unique collaboration between RHN staff, Cowan Architects and existing patients, is designed to be homely whilst providing the best environment for rehabilitation, including specially-adapted environmental controls to increase independence for patients.

Ade Adepitan MBE is a former Paralympic athlete who represented Great Britain as part of the wheelchair basketball team all over the world including at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympics. Since Ade retired from the sport he has become a familiar face on television screens appearing in documentaries and presenting many programmes, including at last year’s Channel 4 Paralympic Games coverage.

Ade said:
“I have driven past the RHN hundreds of times but have never been inside. I had a tour of the hospital and saw the difference its charitable activity makes to the patients there and am so happy to have been invited to open the new centre.”


Ade with RHN patient and fellow West Ham United FC fan, Mark Howe

The new ventilator service was made possible by a very generous donation of £500,000 by The Albert Reckitt Charitable Trust, which has been supporting the work of the RHN for over 70 years.

 

March 7, 2013