Children's hospital

The Sheffield office of national law firm Irwin Mitchell has raised £6,000 for the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity by holding a Comedy night.

Irwin Mitchell's personal injury department, based at the firm's Riverside offices in the city, organised the event which took place at the Roundhouse in Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, to raise funds for the Sheffield Children's Hospital 'Theatre of the Future' Appeal.

Almost 200 guests enjoyed the evening's entertainment, which was compered by Toby Foster, of BBC Radio Sheffield and Phoenix Nights fame, and showcased the talents of up-and-coming comedians from the Last Laugh Comedy Club, Yorkshire's longest running comedy venue.

The Theatre of the Future Appeal is aiming to raise a total of £350,000 to pioneer keyhole surgery in paediatrics. Sheffield Children's Hospital, in Western Bank, will be the first in England to have such a theatre. Fundraising for the appeal is already halfway there.

A theatre of this kind will give the surgeons access to top range keyhole equipment so the hospital can offer more of its young patients the most sophisticated and least invasive form of surgery available - endoscopic or 'keyhole surgery'.

Keyhole surgery (minimally invasive surgery) involves the insertion of a telescope, which transmits to one or more television screens and results in a small invisible scar. Patients have less postoperative pain, reduced wound complications, minimal scarring and an easier return to normal activities.

One operating theatre will be equipped with state of the art equipment, built into the ceiling and walls to create an integrated system. This will improve working arrangements within the theatre, allow the greater use of endoscopic techniques and enable real-time images of procedures to be transmitted elsewhere in the hospital and beyond, for training purposes.

Adrian Budgen, a partner from Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield said: "As a business based in the city, we were keen to help raise funds for such a worthy cause. Everyone commented on the success of the evening and thanks to generous contributions from guests and donations from Irwin Mitchell partners, we were able to raise a substantial amount of money for the Children's Hospital."

Christina Graf, Fundraiser for the charity said: "This is a great boost and is helping us to nudge further towards our £350,000 total.

"We are extremely grateful to the staff at Irwin Mitchell who not only supported our Christmas Snowflake Appeal but went one step further and raised funds towards the Theatre of the Future Appeal."