Gráinne McKenna Cancer Relief CEO tells the story from the new Cancer Relief Centre and where the Charity is now.
Cancer Relief Gibraltar holds a special place in my heart. I am exceptionally proud to be part of such an amazing charity that has done so much for its community over the past 40th years. I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work and continue to work with such wonderful, dedicated teams of professionals and volunteers. All of whom share the charity’s vision that people living with cancer in our community have access to and receive all the support they may possibly need. Since 1983 we have provided this care and support for thousands of individuals and families affected by cancer. Moving to the Cancer Relief Centre in 2013 give us an opportunity to further develop our services right at a time when the charity was ready to expand in response to what the community needed. Since then, the Centre building has grown into the beautiful welcoming premises we have today. It is a pleasure to work in such an amazing environment and witness the welcoming and comforting support it brings to our patients and families in their most difficult of times.
Today, based at the Cancer Relief Centre the charity employs 20 people, including two separate clinical care teams, operational staff, and fundraising teams. Our clinical care teams are made up of the Centre Nursing team, staffed by specialist Cancer Support nurses, funded entirely by donations and our community Hospice Outreach Service (HOS). HOS was launched in 2019 and is funded through a grant provision from the Government of Gibraltar. Working in partnership with our GHA colleagues, HOS provides specialist hospice care to cancer patients with palliative cancer, their families, and carers. The team consists of specialist trained hospice nurses and healthcare assistants supported medically by our Hospice Doctor.
Our additional holistic support services have also grown so much over the years, and we now offer a wide range of therapeutic and complementary therapies including counselling and bereavement support. We also host “Living With and Beyond Cancer’ support groups and physical therapy. None of what we do would be possible without our amazing volunteer team. Cancer Relief currently has a total of 65 volunteers, 17 of which are under the age of 18. The charity benefits immensely from every one of them who offer their time to work either directly with patients or in the background using their specialist skills in areas that the Centre may.
The charity has always had a commitment to furthering education and improving standards in cancer care and has, over many years run courses locally for health care professionals or alternatively funded courses that enable our clinical staff and our GHA colleagues to develop their expertise in this area. We are proud to have an incredible supportive working partnership with City Hospice in Cardiff, Wales, as part of our commitment to hospice care excellence and external clinical governance. Their support has been invaluable in the development and ongoing management of the Hospice Outreach Service over the last 3 years.
We have certainly come a long way since the early dreams of 1983 and are extremely proud of what we have achieved. All of which, could only have been made possible through the dedication and support of our local community. We are forever grateful to them for taking the Charity into their hearts. Our work and our services evolve in-line with the needs of our patients & families, our GHA colleagues, and our community in general. With their on-going support we hope and intend to be here for many more milestones to come.
https://www.chronicle.gi/cancer-relief-marks-40-years-with-a-walk-through-our-history-exhibition/