Information Centre
The Information Centre in Addenbrooke’s hospital concourse provides relevant and appropriate information, guidance and direction to national resources, support groups, legal, financial and social support services, counsellors and complementary therapists.
It is staffed by two part-time time oncology nurses and a team of specially trained volunteers.
Former oncology nurses Pat Westcott and Maggie Fowler are able to give clear, accurate advice and information to people. They are available to discuss medical aspects of diagnosis or treatment, liaise with clinical staff at the hospital and other health professionals if necessary.
This is particularly helpful and reassuring to patients who have just been diagnosed, and those anxious about treatment. They are also available to discuss and arrange complementary treatments, find places on courses and in self-help groups, and offer emotional support and guidance to appropriate sources of help.
Cocktail Round
On ward D9 in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, we offer a ‘Cocktail Trolley’ which improves the appetites of patients and helps with their general well-being. The Cocktail Round was developed with one of the Senior Oncology Dieticians and is based on evidence suggesting that alcohol can stimulate your appetite. Poor appetite is a constant problem for many of the oncology patients on the ward and it is felt that serving a drink before lunch could help and is beneficial for improving the appetite of palliative care patients.
Art Project
An art initiative between The Fitzwilliam Museum, Kettles yard and Wallace Cancer Care is now in its sixth year. This project aims to lift the spirits of in patients on ward D9, one of the Oncology wards within Addenbrooke's, by bringing art to the bedside. We are very fortunate to have highly skilled educationalists from both Kettles Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum come to the hospital once a month. They bring with them high quality digital images of various arts and with the help of two Wallace Cancer Care volunteers stop at the bedside to look at these with any patient that would like to take part.
Reiki for in-patients
This complementary therapy is being offered for the second year to Oncology inpatients. The post is funded by the Sam Buxton sunflower healing trust and managed by Wallace Cancer Care. This therapy is proving very popular and is very suitable for inpatients due to the gentleness of touch and the non invasive nature of delivering this therapy. We are very grateful to the Sam Buxton foundation for funding this for two years and we will look to find other funding to continue this valuable work.