New Macmillan Cancer Support Centre opens at Ashford Hospital in Surrey
Purpose-built centre offers advice, complementary therapies and support groups
A new Cancer Support Centre for people with cancer and their loved ones has opened at Ashford Hospital in Surrey.
The purpose-built centre has been opened by Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support.
It is a non-clinical space where patients and their families can get support and advice throughout their cancer journey, closer to home.
Tom Smerdon, Group Director of Neighbourhood Health and Executive Sponsor for the Macmillan Centre, said: "Thanks to the support and funding from Macmillan Cancer Support, we have been able to provide this much needed space. As well as providing information and support, the centre will provide complementary therapies, exercise classes and support groups."
Tom Smerdon also said: "We welcomed our first visitor/service user Julie Chipperfield and it was lovely to see and hear how happy she was to be able to have access to this facility and everything it offers her and others."
Julie was presented with a Macmillan goodie bag containing an assortment of wellbeing treats, including a notebook, toiletries and chocolates.
Kate Regan, Professional Engagement Improvement Lead at Macmillan, said: "We know that some conversations – particularly around the worries faced by people living with cancer - are better had in a warm and welcoming space and not in a clinical setting. The new Cancer Support Centre offers just that for the people living with cancer and their families in Surrey and the surrounding areas."
Kate Regan also said: "It provides a calm space for people to receive care that wraps around them, close to where they live, when they need it, so they never feel alone. We look forward to seeing it enable more people with cancer to get the very best support the UK has to offer."