Northampton General Hospital in talks to build cancer charity support point
ARCHITECTS could soon be in talks with bosses at Northampton General Hospital about a striking cancer support centre to be built on behalf of a charity.
The Maggie’s centre would form part of NGH’s new cancer strategy and would see a unique building designed for the town centre site, where anyone wanting informal information about all aspects of the disease could drop in.
Similar buildings have been constructed for the Maggie’s Cancer Centres charity in several towns and cities in the UK, including Nottingham and London.
A key tenet of the charity, established by the writer, architect and landscape designer Maggie Keswick Jencks, who later died of cancer, is to make the centres pleasing to the eye, resulting in several lauded modern designs by some of the world’s leading architects.
Maggie’s chief executive Laura Lee said: “We are ambitious to support as many people affected by cancer as possible, and as such if the opportunity arises we would like to further expand our network of Maggie’s Centres in the region by creating one in Northampton.”
Mrs Lee said Maggie’s approach helped alleviate emotional distress and practical difficulties that cancer brought, helping those experiencing cancer to cope better.
She added: “Maggie’s provides free practical, emotional and psychological support for anyone affected by cancer. We welcome people at any point in the cancer journey: diagnosis, treatment, post-treatment, recurrence, end of life and bereavement and with any type of cancer.
“Maggie’s also supports their family and friends . . . we know that those who love and look after someone with cancer often feel as frightened and vulnerable as those who actually have the disease.”
Bosses at NGH are due to start talks with the charity in two weeks and a site had been earmarked near the existing oncology centre.
The first Maggie’s centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996 and there are now 15 centres either open or under development in places including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hong Kong and Barcelona.
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