New car for Maggie’s

Cancer patients visiting the new Maggie’s Forth Valley Centre could benefit from a brand new car donated recently to the centre.

Fleet vehicle company Fleet Alliance’s donation will allow volunteers to offer patients a vital transport link between Forth Valley Royal Hospital and the centre, which sits in the hospital grounds.

Grateful Maggie’s chiefs say the Glasgow-based company has donated £145,000 to their centres since 2010.

The local centre’s new car – a Peugeot 108 – will also be fully maintained and serviced for the next two years.

Fleet Alliance’s managing director Martin Brown said:“A visit to a Maggie’s Centre is always a humbling experience as we learn of the incredible support offered to patients at what is inevitably a very difficult stage in their lives. Our colleagues have focused on Maggie’s as one of our key good causes to support over the last seven years. Being able to offer transport for patients to get between the hospital and the centre more easily could be vital in allowing them to regularly visit and benefit from the centre’s services.”

Gillian Hailstones, head of Maggie’s Centre Operations in Scotland, said: “We’re hugely grateful to Fleet Alliance for their generosity in providing Maggie’s Forth Valley with this car. The car will be used to transport centre visitors from the front door of the hospital to the centre itself.

“While the centre has car parking including designated disabled parking we know there are people with restricted mobility or severe fatigue who would be coming to the hospital site by public transport.

“The benefit of the car will be in making sure these people can get quickly and easily between the front entrance of the hospital and the centre itself.”

The centre opened in March and offers free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their family and friends including drop-in cancer support, one-to- one psychological sessions, benefits advice, nutrition workshops, relaxation and stress management, art therapy, tai chi and yoga.