The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has announced a partnership with Maggie’s cancer charity to create a new cancer facility on its main hospital site in Wirral, Merseyside.
The interim centre, designed by Carmody Groarke, will significantly enhance the cancer care and support already offered at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
Over the next few years, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has exciting plans to expand its services into central Liverpool. Investment at its current main hospital site in Wirral is also planned so a creative, interim solution has been designed that can advance with its future development plans.
The residents across Merseyside and Cheshire deserve access to the vital support that a Maggie's Centre can offer; to help to transform their lives positively and build a life beyond cancer
Patients will be able to access the huge range of support services that Maggie’s offer, including psychological support, benefits advice, nutrition workshops, relaxation and stress management, art therapy, tai chi and yoga.
On 8 March, The London Dresser - the first of the seven portable buildings which make up the interim centre - was delivered to the hospital. The London Dresser was a project commissioned by the Mayor of London as part of the Wonder Installations series during the London 2012 Olympics.
Maggie’s purchased the dresser from its manufacturer, millimetre, after the London Olympics as an innovative solution to providing an attractive space for its visitors. The dresser’s 11m long glass panelled side will also showcase Clatterbridge’s unique rural location by offering a panoramic view over the farming fields of the Wirral landscape.
Laura Lee, chief Executive of Maggie’s, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Carmody Groarke. The emotional and practical impact on people with a cancer diagnosis and their families and friends is devastating as they face one of life's biggest challenges. The residents across Merseyside and Cheshire deserve access to the vital support that a Maggie's Centre can offer; to help to transform their lives positively and build a life beyond cancer.”
As we lay down our plans to build a new cancer centre in central Liverpool, the innovative design of this interim centre has been purposefully constructed with these plans in mind so that Maggie’s can expand with us
Andrew Cannell, chief executive at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, added: “For our patients to have such immediate and easy access to the support services Maggie’s offers further enhances our mission to deliver the most-compassionate cancer care possible to our patients.
“We are always looking for new ways to improve our services for residents across Merseyside and Cheshire. As we lay down our plans to build a new cancer centre in central Liverpool, the innovative design of this interim centre has been purposefully constructed with these plans in mind so that Maggie’s can expand with us, helping us continue to offer the best cancer treatment and support services throughout the region.”
The Big Lottery Fund and The Monument Trust are funding the construction of the new interim centre and the cost of core staff over the first three years of the project.