16 October 2017

It is mission accomplished for the Chief Executive of Shropshire’s two acute hospitals, who successfully climbed four volcanoes in five days to raise money for a new state-of-the-art scanner.

Simon Wright returned to work this morning (Monday) bruised and little sore, but delighted to have succeeded in tackling Sicily’s “Mighty Four” volcanoes – Stromboli, Vulcano, Salina and the world famous Mount Etna.

Simon Wright completes his volcano challenge

Simon, who is Chief Executive of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), took on the epic trek in support of the MRI Appeal set up by the League of Friends of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to mark their 50th Anniversary.

During his adventure, and sometimes in the dark, he trekked a total of 16,000ft – and was met with 30 degrees heat when he reached the top of two of the active summits, Etna and Stromboli. He took the boat to reach the volcanoes – and each took around six hours to complete.

Simon, who is a keen walker and runner, is hoping that his volcano challenge will help to raise around £5,500 for the MRI Appeal. There is still time to support him through his online fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Simon-Wright-Sath

He said: “It was the most incredible experience, and I am absolutely delighted to have completed my challenge to help the League of Friends. They were all tough climbs, but I was determined to make it to the top of each of them. Reaching the top of the craters was spectacular, and there was only one hairy moment when we had to make a quick vertical descent from the top of Stromboli.

“Fundraising groups like the League of Friends are vital to hospitals like ours. They help us purchase equipment to improve the quality of care we provide for our patients, and I wanted to do something to help them.”

Simon funded the trip himself and used some of his annual leave to complete the challenge.

The new MRI scanner will support nearly all care groups within SaTH and will improve care for existing patients. It will also allow the Trust to carry out some scans which patients have previously had to travel out of the area to receive.