Cancer patients in Driffield can now access specialist clinics and expert advice much closer to home.
Normally based at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Survivorship Team is launching bi-monthly outreach sessions at Alfred Bean Hospital in Driffield (pictured, above).
The sessions will run from 9:30am to 1pm starting on Tuesday 6th September, and will then be held on the first Tuesday of every second month (November, January etc), providing the town’s residents with advice, care and support in their local community, thus reducing the need to travel.
Sarah Guest, Clinical Nurse Specialist with the Survivorship Team explains:
“Cancer can be a very personal experience and one which affects people in different ways. It can leave people fatigued, for example, or demotivated, and they may find the thought of leaving the house or of making a journey back to hospital personally quite difficult.
“By launching the outreach clinics in Driffield, we’re bringing the same clinical advice and personal support which we normally deliver at the Queen’s Centre in Cottingham out to the community in Driffield.
“As well as increasing convenience and reducing the need for our patient group to travel, it also means they have the opportunity to receive advice, benefit from our clinical expertise, and ask any questions face to face.”
The Survivorship Team’s approach is to look after the whole person, so as well as providing advice on managing physical health after cancer, the team also supports survivors by providing healthy lifestyle advice, emotional support, and the chance to take part in social activities with people who have been through similar experiences.
Sarah adds:
“We know people appreciate being seen and treated in comfortable, familiar surroundings. By delivering our service more locally, we’re hoping to empower patients who are living with or beyond cancer, and hopefully take away some of the extra little stresses, like travel, which they may encounter when accessing healthcare.”
For more information, contact the Survivorship Team on (01482) 461091 or email hyp-tr.survivorship.team@nhs.net