APPENDIX 54
Letter to the Clerk of the Committee from
Ms Elizabeth A Wilson, Chairman, Stranraer Cancer Drop In Centre
Association
As Chairman of a recently formed cancer support
organisation, I wish to thank the Science and Technology Committee
for the opportunity to give evidence.
Our Association (SDICA) for people living with cancer
and other life limiting illnesses, their relatives and carers
was established in October 1998. It was formed to complement the
health and social services in Stranraer and District by providing
additional support and information through opening an appropriately
staffed Drop In Centre in Stranraer. The initiative is clearly
supported by the community both in the attendance of some 70 people
at a public meeting held on 24 October 1998, and by the continuing
local interest and fund raising efforts. Some 40 people attended
our recent Annual General Meeting. The speaker was Dr Alastair
Stark, Lead Clinician for Cancer Services for Dumfries and Galloway.
Many questions were asked by the audience.
Initially the need for a centre was expressed
by a local cancer support group which met monthly. It had been
set up in 1991-92 by a District Nurse, to provide support for
cancer sufferers who had travelled to treatment centres together
and who missed the company of fellow sufferers when treatment
ceased.
The specialist diagnostic and treatment centres
serving Stranraer are: Dumfries 75 miles; Glasgow 95 miles; Edinburgh
135 miles.
In developing our plans we have been much encouraged
by health and social services staff and received advice from Macmillan
Cancer Relief. The Centre opened on 12 January 2000, on one day
a week as a pilot project to identify the district's needs more
clearly. Funding for this came from an "Award for All"
grant from the Lotteries Charity Board.
Twenty-five people have attended the Centre
so far, some have had relatives or carers with them, and many
have attended more than once. We have had referrals from General
Practitioners and a Clinical Nurse Specialist. Some of the people
attending are sufferers themselves, others relatives/carers and
bereaved. Those attending regularly for support are one carer,
three who are attending the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh
for treatment, and three recently bereaved.
There is no doubt that people diagnosed with
cancer and their relatives/carers feel lonely and isolated in
our community, despite good primary care provision, a palliative
care unit and Macmillan and Marie Curie nursing support, many
have problems with not only the discomfort of journeys for treatment
but also the cost involved. They and their relatives/carers also
find the separation through distance difficult when in-patient
treatment is required. Some have never been away from Wigtownshire.
Many speak of the comfort of shared experience
when able to travel together for treatment and find a void when
that ceases. Others speak of the support while staying in Raeburn
House, a hostel in Edinburgh which opened some years ago for people
having radiotherapy and where one met others in a similar position.
Sadly this hostel has closed recently and patients for treatment
from Stranraer are being accommodated in wards alongside very
ill patients. As yet, we do not know what arrangements will be
made to re-open or replace this excellent arrangement.
Another factor for our community of 10,000 in
Stranraer itself, around 16,000 in Stranraer and District, is
the difficulty for General Practitioners and other professionals
to have detailed knowledge as cancer treatment is so specialised.
From our experience we believe that people who
are diagnosed with cancer and their relatives and carers who live
in a relatively small rural community a considerable distance
from specialist diagnostic and treatment centres have special
needs for emotional, psychological and practical support and information.
We would be pleased to co-operate in research,
identifying the special needs of those in rural communities, at
a distance from cancer treatment centres. We would also be interested
in considering realistic ways in which these needs may be addressed.
I trust this letter provides some useful evidence
for your Committee.
12 June 2000
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