More than 60 companies, organisations and individuals have become Golden Partners of a Christchurch charity which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Macmillan Caring Locally works in partnership with University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust to provide the services at the Macmillan Unit and in the community.
The Macmillan Unit is a hospice and a specialist palliative care ward at Christchurch Hospital.
In partnership with the NHS the charity supports:
- 16 in-patient beds at the Macmillan Unit Christchurch
- A virtual day centre
- 12 community clinical nurse specialists who look after up to 400 patients living at home in the local community
- A Hospice at Home team
- A team of clinical nurse specialists who support patients at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital
Every year there are more than 1,600 referrals to the Macmillan Unit.
Macmillan Caring Locally also funds the multi-disciplinary teams at the Macmillan Unit which include the Family Support Team, Rehabilitation Team, complementary therapy, welfare benefits advice and chaplaincy.
The charity, and its Golden Partners, is celebrating the 5oth anniversary with dozens of fundraising events.
Neal Williams, the charity’s Trust Secretary, pictured, says he’s “really surprised” at the level of support received.
He told Bournemouth One: “We’re a community charity.
“We’re only small and nothing to do with the national Macmillan Cancer Support.
“We’re based at Christchurch Hospital and our primary aim is to support the Macmillan Unit which is a hospice, a specialist palliative care ward, and was the first of its kind to be built in 1974.
“We’re really proud of that and we want to raise that profile and celebrate 50 years of excellent care.
“Without our supporters the Macmillan Unit wouldn’t exist.
“We rely on our community, through donations and legacies, to allow us to have the funds, that we’re custodians of, to allow our incredible clinical teams to do the work that they’re really good at which is looking after some of the vulnerable patients in our community.
“We’re a community charity and we’re looked after by our community so it’s a perfect partnership.”