Big rise in visitors to Maggie’s
Elspeth Salter outside Maggie's Fife
MAGGIE’S Fife has seen a dramatic rise in visitors to the centre since the new wing of the Victoria Hospital started accepting patients this year.
On average between 30 and 40 people now visit the centre every day for emotional, practical and social support with cancer, accessing a range of services from drop-in information and informal support over a cup of tea to support groups, to one-to-one sessions with its cancer support specialists.
This is a significant increase from the 20 to 30 people who visited the centre each day last year.
Elspeth Salter, head of centre for Maggie’s Fife, said: “It gives us great satisfaction to see an increase in the number of people accessing the support we offer.
“We support anyone affected by cancer from across the whole Fife area, which can mean just about anything from offering stress management and Tai Chi classes as ways of calming the mind, relaxing and improving sleep, to one-to-one sessions with a cancer support specialist or a benefits advisor.
Benefits
“Over 6000 visit Maggie’s Fife in a year but it is also important to remember that through the support any one person affected by cancer finds from us at Maggie’s, a whole family benefits through being better informed and equipped to cope - the work we do has a huge knock on effect.”
The broad programme of support at Maggie’s Fife also includes a one-off Getting Started workshop for people at the point of diagnosis, a six week Where Now? course for people completing treatment, a Family & Friends support group and relaxation classes.
New initiatives are planned including a weekly walking group, a ‘Supporting Someone with Cancer’ six week course for carers and a lecture series for health professionals.
Of course, with the increase in visits to the centre, comes and increase in costs.
Anyone who can do anything to support Maggie’s Fife should contact Tumong Edwards, community fundraiser, on tumong.edwards@maggiescentres.org or 07825 056 386.
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Friday 24 May 2013
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