Macmillan centre at Northampton General Hospital receives award for standard of care

A specialist cancer support centre based at Northampton General Hospital has received an award for that standard of care it provides.

The Macmillan Information and Support Centre helps around 3,000 local people and their families every year, with help and support as well as wellbeing activities.

The centre has now been awarded a ‘very good’ score as part of the Macmillan Quality Environment Mark, which assesses how well centres provide support and care to those affected by cancer.

To achieve the award, centres have to score highly in areas such as use of space, comfort and atmosphere, personal and social interaction and health and wellbeing.

One man who has seen first hand the work the centre does, says the team has become ‘like a second family’.

Paul Little from Northampton was diagnosed with metastatic bone cancer in 2017 and visits the centre regularly.

The 65-year-old said: “The team at the Macmillan centre at Northampton General have provided me with great care, I go there about once a week; they’ve become like a second family.

“It’s really nice that you can just drop-in and have a chat. The support they offer to people with different types of cancer amazes me, they’re very experienced and professional.

“They have made me feel well within myself emotionally and they helped me when I didn’t know how to talk to my family and children about my cancer diagnosis – they’re an invaluable source of support.

“I have low days sometimes and it’s not until you’re out and about that you realise that people who don’t have cancer don’t really understand what you’re going through or how you feel.

“I would love to make more people aware of the support Macmillan offers in Northampton; Macmillan has been brilliant to me since my diagnosis.”

Wendy Smith, Macmillan information and support lead at the centre, said: “We are all so pleased to achieve a high score in the assessment, we really are proud of the range of support we offer local people here at the centre.

“Our team is made up of dedicated staff and trained volunteers who work so hard to help people with cancer in Northamptonshire live life as fully as they can.”

The Macmillan Cancer Support Centre is located at the entrance of the Oncology Centre at Northampton General Hospital and is open Monday to Friday 9am until 4pm.

You can drop-in to have a chat at any time during the opening hours as no appointments are necessary.