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A brand-new Complementary Therapy Room for young people receiving hospital treatment for cancer was opened today by Leicester Tigers players at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Tigers captain Tom Youngs, hooker Ross McMillan and number 8s Sione Kalamafoni and Fred Tuilagi swung by the Childrens & Young People’s Cancer Ward during a visit to the Royal Infirmary to officially open the new room.
The first of its kind for Leicester’s Hospitals, the new Complementary Therapy Room next to Ward 27 will provide young patients fighting cancer a special environment where they can relax and receive complementary therapy such as hairdressing, beauty treatments and wig fittings.
Funded jointly by Leicester Hospitals Charity and The Robbie Anderson Cancer Trust (RACT), a significant amount of the donated funds were raised during the annual ‘Robbie’s Rugby Festival’.
In addition to the room being paid entirely through charitable donations, Oncology Nurse Yvonne Sarroukh has also received formal training to provide a variety of complementary therapies to patients and will spend one day a week offering these services to patients which will be funded entirely by Leicester Hospitals Charity.
Ward Sister of Ward 27, Jo Maconnachie, says the new room will go a long way to benefit young patients with cancer, as well as their loved ones.
“We are so pleased to officially open the new Complementary Therapy Room on Ward 27,” says Jo.
“Our patients will greatly benefit from having this facility and service available for both their physical and mental health. We have lots of things planned for the room and hoping to offer a variety of treatments that will enrich the experience of both patients and parents.
“Special thanks must go to Kevin and Fiona Anderson who have fundraised for this room and many other things for Ward 27 in memory of their son Robbie. I’d also like to thank Yvonne, one of our oncology staff nurses, who has completed a massage diploma to be able to offer this complementary service to our patients.”
The opening of the new Complementary Therapy Room is a proud moment for Leicester Hospitals Charity, says our Director, Lisa Davies.
“We’re delighted to be able to support the young patients at Leicester’s Hospitals by helping to fund this fantastic new room and service,” says Lisa.
“This enhancement to patient treatment is exactly in keeping with our mission as a charity to help provide improvements to our hospitals above and beyond with the NHS already provides.”
RACT’s Kevin Anderson says his late son Robbie, who set up the trust at age 13 just months before his death from a rare form of cancer in 2006, would have been very happy to help make the new Complementary Therapy Room a reality.
“This new room will be a haven where young people undergoing treatment for cancer and often long stays in hospital will be able to relax, unwind, have fun and feel very special,” says Kevin.
“Its aim is to offer young people fighting cancer an opportunity to relax in a non-hospital environment that is calm and soothing and allow them to feel special. For those young people receiving treatment for cancer, it will be like stepping into an upmarket spa retreat. In addition, there will even be sensory equipment for younger children on the ward to enjoy.”
