Cancer support centre plans unveiled for Ysbyty Glan Clwyd

A charity wants to build a cancer support centre at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.
Maggie’s has submitted a planning application to Denbighshire’s planning department, seeking to build the support centre, together with parking and landscaping at the hospital on Rhuddlan Road in Bodelwyddan.
The support centre would provide psychological help for people diagnosed with cancer and would be built in the hospital car park in a 3,035 square metre area.
According to the application, the project aims to provide facilities to empower people to “live with, through, and beyond cancer” through professional help, community support, and the building’s design.
If it gets the go-ahead, the building will consist of meeting spaces that cater for both group support and individual reflection, which all revolve around a central dining table, creating a homely environment, where people with cancer and their friends and family feel welcome and supported.
The application reads: “On average people receive a cancer diagnosis in just seven minutes.
“In those few minutes, their whole world falls apart.
“Fear, despair, and confusion take hold, together with emotional challenges they cannot face alone.
“Whilst medical teams based in NHS hospitals focus on giving the best possible medical care, they simply do not have time to answer all of the overwhelming questions that come when you are told you have cancer.
“At Maggie’s we do.
“For more than two decades, Maggie’s has pioneered a programme of psychological, practical, and social support from its growing number of centres.
“This is free of charge to anyone with any type of cancer for as long as they need it. Because bewildering changes also affect friends and family, we support them too.”
The charity currently has 26 centres across the UK, with each located next to a major NHS cancer centre but managed independently.
In 2019 there were 285,000 visits to Maggie’s centres across the UK, including 70,000 new visits.
The charity’s long-term ambition is to be at all 60 NHS cancer centres across the UK. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​