Coronavirus: Newcastle children's cancer doctor smashes head shave target

Geoff Shenton had his shaved by his wife Lucia Pareja-Cebrian

A children's cancer doctor has smashed his head shave fundraising target.

Geoff Shenton, a haematology consultant at the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle, had initially hoped to raise £260 for charity.

But after wife Lucia Pareja-Cebrian took the shears to his purple locks - dyed to match the ink on his medical charts - he has raised £4,400.

Dr Shenton said he also wanted to stress the ward was "still open" amid a drop in the number of new patients.

"I've been blown away by the response," said Dr Shenton, who has been at the hospital since 2014.

Dr Shenton said his wife, who is the director of prevention and control at Newcastle Hospitals, "liked the idea of" of shaving his head "but not the result."

"Donations for charities have plummeted because of the coronavirus outbreak so I wanted to do something to help," he said.

But his "key message" was that the hospital remained open and anyone with concerns about their child should seek medical advice as they would have done before the pandemic.

He said there had been a "worrying" drop in the number of referrals.

"We may be operating slightly differently, more telephone conferences for example, but we are still providing the best possible treatment.

"If you are worried about your child you need to bring them to hospital."

Donations from the head-shave will be split between the Children's Cancer Fund and North East Children's Cancer Research.

Dr Shenton said his wife enjoyed shaving his head...

... but not the result

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