The Macmillan Personalised Care Team at Swindon’s Great Western Hospital were today - 25 September - hosting one of the charity's iconic Coffee Mornings.
Taking place at the hospital’s OspreyUnit, it welcomed patients, staff, carers and visitors.
The Macmillan Coffee Morning, which sees communities across the UK come together over food and drink, is the charity’s biggest annual fundraiser, helping to raise money for vital cancer support services across the county.
Michelle Taylor, Macmillan Personalised Care Team lead at Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and organiser for this year’s fundraiser, said: “Our team here at the Trust was initially funded by Macmillan, so we wanted to help support the charity as they help support cancer patients and their families so much.
“We have seen firsthand the difference our posts and Macmillan funding have made to our cancer patients when they are diagnosed, going through treatment, and then when they are living with cancer.
“Thanks Macmillan’s initial funding, our team has been able to offer a personalised and holistic approach to supporting cancer patients and addressing unmet needs – for example we have recently set up a cancer carers café as there was little support for carers.
“We have also been able to help some cancer patients become fitter and more able to access treatment thanks to prehab and rehab sessions run by our allied health professionals. The feedback we get from patients is always very positive and to be able to help support cancer patients in our area to ‘live well’ is very rewarding to us as a team.
“The financial situation all charities are experiencing in the current climate means that we are having to support fundraising events as much as possible to enable the good work they do to continue. So hosting a Macmillan Coffee Morning feels a good way to give back!”
Last year £18m was raised through Coffee Mornings across the UK, with people in Wiltshire contributing £177,000, enough to fund a Macmillan Support Worker for over four years, during which time they could help cancer patients find their best way through by providing coordinated care, practical and emotional support, as well as freeing up vital time for cancer nursing teams.
On average someone is diagnosed with cancer in the UK at least every 90 seconds, and there are more than 3m people living with cancer in the UK, a figure the charity says is set to rise to 4m by 2030.
Further information can be found at www.macmillan.org.uk/coffee
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