More cancer patients than ever before being treated at Blackpool Victoria Hospital are now to be offered free complementary therapy alongside their conventional medical treatment.
An award of £8,640 has been made to Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust by Rosemere Cancer Foundation. Matched by the Trust’s own Blue Skies charity, it means that over the coming year, as well as patients visiting the Windmill Unit, the hospital’s oncology and haematology outpatients department, inpatients attending the chemotherapy day unit will also be offered the same free access to treatments such as aromatherapy and reflexology with therapists coming on to the ward.
The provision of complementary therapy is co-ordinated over two days a week by the Windmill Unit’s Macmillan Information and Support Centre, which is managed by Helen Bright (pictured). Patients either refer themselves for sessions or are referred by the health teams looking after them.
Helen said: “Complementary therapies are generally used alongside conventional medical treatments to boost patients’ physical, spiritual or emotional health and may relieve the symptoms or side-effects of conventional treatment.
“We are grateful we can offer this service, which is now being uplifted to patients within the chemotherapy day unit. The feedback we receive from patients taking up complementary therapy plans is great.”
Rosemere Cancer Foundation has helped to fund complementary therapy at Blackpool Victoria Hospital for more than a decade.
The charity works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria. It does this by funding vital equipment, research, training and other services such as complementary health therapy that would otherwise be beyond limited NHS resources. For further information on its work and how to donate, visit www.rosemere.org.uk
Lights event shines for Rosemere
This year’s seventh annual Rosemere Cancer Foundation Walk the Lights event, a five-mile Prom stroll through the Illuminations, raised £11,067.57 for the charity.
The walk, which took place in early October, attracted more than 400 participants from across the county, including many families. Their entry fees, sponsorship money and donations equated to the total amount raised.
Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria. It does this by funding vital equipment, research, training and other services that would otherwise be beyond limited NHS resources.
