Hospital staff raise cash for cancer care
PATIENTS with cancer will be helped as they go through diagnosis and treatment by a charity which has been given a cash boost by hospital workers.
Staff at BMI The Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle have raised £2,000 for Beechwood Cancer Care Charity, which helps cancer patients with the emotional support that they need to face the disease.
Although the hospital, in Mill Lane, provides cancer treatments and therapies for private patients, very often their private insurance does not cover emotional support.
With this in mind, and knowing how much cancer patients rely on emotional as much as medical help, the hospital staff and consultants have been working closely with Beechwood, based in Stockport, to raise money for the charity to provide the service.
The team held a pamper day for their cancer patients, where they were offered free therapy treatments, such as reflexology and reiki, hosted a barbecue for staff and consultants and held a raffle with all the proceeds from each event going to the charity.
Sean Crooks, director of operations at BMI The Alexandra Hospital, said: “We are extremely grateful to all the donations of prizes for the raffle, and would like to thank all those companies involved.
“They have gone a long way to help our cancer patients and their families to have all the emotional support they need during a very difficult time.”
Linda Steggles, chief executive at Beechwood Cancer Care Charity, said: “We are absolutely over the moon with the hard work and generosity of everyone involved in the fundraising.
“£2,000 is a fantastic amount and will help fund the much-needed work we are doing.
“We are very much looking forward to working with BMI The Alexandra to help provide emotional support to their patients and families.”
Consultant Greg Wilson said: “I see patients with cancer at The Alex regularly, and have seen the full range of emotions about how people react to a diagnosis, ongoing treatment, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, as well as the effect on their families.
“The work of Beechwood has been so important for people and, the charity teams share our absolute commitment to patient care.”
Beechwood, which was established in 1990, offers a range of support, including one-to-one counselling sessions, complementary therapies and group sessions with other patients and carers.