Manager thrilled to receive Macmillan Quality Environment Mark
Charing Cross Hospital’s Macmillan Information & Support Centre has received an award that recognises high standards of cancer care environments.
The centre has been awarded a Macmillan Quality Environment Mark or MQEM for creating an environment with exemplary design of space, ease of access and patients’ experience.
The Macmillan Information & Support Centre held a celebration event attended by staff, volunteers and representatives from Macmillan to present the award to Miranda Rodger, the Centre’s Manager.
Miranda said: " We are thrilled to receive this prestigious award. We couldn’t have done it without the help of the staff and volunteers who work with us on a daily basis. The work everyone does at the centre is phenomenal and goes a long way to helping us maintain high standards of care for people affected by cancer in North West London."
The Macmillan Quality Environment Mark helps to ensure that people affected by cancer are treated and supported in physical environments of uniformly high quality. It is the first award in the UK that specifically assesses how well suited buildings such as chemotherapy and palliative units are to supporting and caring for people affected by cancer.
The scheme is open to any healthcare providers from the public, voluntary or private sectors that operate cancer care buildings. It has been developed in collaboration with people living with cancer and organisations including the Department of Health in England.
Katy Saunders, Macmillan Development Manager for North West London said: "Macmillan places a lot of importance on the quality of environments - year on year we invest between £5-7m in improving the environments of cancer care in the NHS. This is why we collaborated with the Department of Health and consulted people affected by cancer to create a benchmark in the standard of cancer environments.
"The Macmillan Information and Support Centre at Charing Cross scored top marks across all criteria and was rated as ‘excellent’ in all categories. It is clear that the team is committed to providing high quality care in an environment that contributes to the enhanced well-being of people affected by cancer. Congratulations to the whole team on this recognition of their fantastic work."
The Charing Cross Macmillan Cancer Information & Support Centre is open from 9am to 5pm Monday and Friday and from 9am to 4pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
It is staffed by a Macmillan Cancer Information Specialist, a Benefits Adviser and several volunteers. Anyone with questions about cancer is welcome to drop by for information and advice during these hours, no appointment necessary.
Outside of opening hours, a request for information can be submitted in the centre’s post box.
Call 020 3313 0171 for more information.
December 13, 2013