Talking’s the way ahead in free therapy

It’s good to talk – that’s the advice from the NHS, which is offering free therapies to help people cope with everything from stress to phobias and anger management.

The number of organisations in the NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area that provide talking therapies such as counselling and psychotherapy has doubled, and patients can also refer themselves.

The lead GP for mental health at West Kent CCG, Dr David Chesover, said: “Treatment can include self-help booklets, online sessions, life skills workshops, counselling and employmentrelated support and therapy.

“Talking therapies really do help people to cope with all sorts of problems and in some cases enable patients to avoid medication.”

Patients may be offered six or more treatment sessions, depending on their needs, and the therapy is free for eligible patients.

For more, visit www.liveitwell. org.uk, or call the Live It Well 24-hour Mental Health Matters Helpline on 0800 107 0160; 0300 330 5486 for mobiles.

You can also talk to your GP.

cmcwethy@thekmgroup.co.uk An inspirational mum with terminal cancer is being honoured by Maidstone Hospital after raising £10,000 for the ward where she receives her treatment.

Hayley Martin, 30, from Loose Road, is having a room named after her following her tireless charity work, and she will also be leading support sessions for fellow patients there.

Keli Tomlin, chemotherapy day unit manager at the Hermitage Lane hospital, said: “Hayley has been instrumental in the setting up of this room, thanks to her tireless fundraising.

“Over the past year she has donated around £10,000 to us, without which it would not have been possible to create Hayley’s Room.

“We decided to name the room after her as a way of saying thank you and acknowledging all the hard work she has put in.”

The room, in the Charles Dickens ward, will be officially opened on Thursday, December 11, and will be used for information sessions and monitoring patients’ post-treatment and it will be the base of the young persons’ support group.

Hayley, a L’Oreal technician, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2011 and had surgery and six months of chemotherapy.

Despite getting the all-clear she was told in September last year that it had returned and was inoperable – just four months after she gave birth to her son Freddie.

She says she does not want to know how much time she has left and has instead put her energy into organising everything from golf days and raffles to glitzy black-tie events to raise money for her two causes.

As well as championing the Charles Dickens ward at Maidstone hospital, she is the ambassador for Hair and Beauty Benevolent – a charity that helps members of the beauty