STAFF at the Wyvern have helped to raise a whopping £1m for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

As part of the Swindon Theatres group, along with the Arts Centre, staff helped to raise the staggering amount as part of their charity work through cake sales, fun days and taking part in the half marathon.

The Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity has been in partnership with their parent company, Qdos Entertainment Group, since 2010 and now, thanks to the mammoth amount of money raised, the charity will be able to fund a suite of operating theatres at the hospital which are due to open at the end of this year.

Wyvern staff have generated the funds in a number of ways – through collections at the annual pantomimes, their annual family fun days, bake sales and tombolas as well as dressing up as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs during the 2015 half marathon.

Kate Claxton, Great Ormond Street Hospital ambassador at the Wyvern, said: “When we put on a panto of Peter Pan all the royalties go to the hospital and at that time of year people are thinking of others and so it is good chance to fundraise for them.

“I was really pleased that it has got to £1m. It is such a milestone for everyone and people do respond well to fundraising things we do because Great Ormond Street is such a worthwhile cause.

“Knowing that £1m has been raised, you do take away a bit of pride and satisfaction knowing that you have been able to help get to that total.

“People do pay a good amount of money to come to the panto and for us to reach £1m with a lot of that coming from around Christmas time is really heart-warming.

“September is the launch of the new season and we will be looking to raise funds over the coming months.”

Now that all the pounds and pennies have been added up, the money will go towards the hospital’s state-of-the-art brand-new operating theatres in their new clinical building, designed to treat children with complex medical needs

Having now concluded the Theatres for Theatres appeal, the next phase of fundraising will see contributions going towards an IMRI (intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging) suite at the hospital. This will enable neurosurgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital to conduct scans mid-operation for the first time, without taking the child away from the operating table.

It will give surgeons real time data to ensure they can deliver the best outcome for each patient as well as limiting the need for further surgery.

Swindon Theatres director Derek Aldridge added: “I’d like to thank our wonderful audiences in Swindon for donating to GOSH so generously.

“This magnificent achievement is down to them and I know many local families will benefit from the facilities and expertise of Great Ormond Street Hospital.”