Momentous day for support centre

OPEN . . . (front, from left) Beverley Heap (therapist), Mayoress Shafeena Kausar, Mayor Councillor Shoab Akhtar, Shauna Dixon (director of clinical leadership at NHS Oldham), Chris Hoyle (volunteer information and support manager), Janice Boriss (therapist), Brian Sandiford (volunteer) and Jane Pemberton (therapist)

OLDHAM Cancer Support Centre was officially opened yesterday by the Mayor, Councillor Shoab Akhtar.

Based at Failsworth Primary Care Resource Centre, the service first opened its doors in January, last year. It was the brainchild of Chris Hoyle, who embarked on the ambitious plan of providing a support centre after he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

He struggled in the period after intensive treatment and constant attention from medics ended. Unfit to return to work, he found he had hours to spare and little to fill them. The lack of support available to help him through a difficult period prompted him to set up a support centre so other people with cancer had somewhere to go and someone to talk to. His idea won the backing of NHS Oldham, which gave him the rooms to use at the primary care resource centre.

He gathered a bunch of volunteers, most of whom had been treated for cancer, to turn his vision into a reality. The cancer support centre is now open daily and run by a team of volunteers who offer support to patients, carers and family members.

A team of complementary therapists offer their time freely to treat patients, who can also get benefits advice, counselling and information.

The centre offers a relaxed atmosphere for patients and carers to meet and support each other.

Chris explained: “We left it so long to officially open the centre because we wanted to make sure we had got it right.

“We built it up slowly because we didn’t want a rush of people that we weren’t able to cope with.”

The Mayor was joined for the momentous occasion yesterday by representatives from NHS Oldham, Pennine Acute Trust, Oldham Council, Macmillan Cancer Support, Oldham Carers, Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Voluntary Action Oldham and the Christie Hospital.

Chris and his team of volunteers and fund-raisers must between them raise £73,000 a year to operate the service, which is totally funded from fund-raising and donations.

In its first year, it provided 1,060 services to 489 clients.