Chris Lomas is the Macmillan Project Manager for the Macmillan Living With And Beyond Cancer Programme in Sheffield, she updates us on the latest developments in the city:
“We’ve been working with people affected by cancer and organisational partners from across Sheffield to form a local plan which will deliver personalised care and support for people diagnosed with cancer.
“Two Macmillan Community Cancer Care Coordinator posts were recruited to last year, they are being hosted by our partner Age UK Sheffield. These new posts will offer support to everyone but will have a focus on targeting people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and people living in areas of social deprivation or isolation in the city. The aim is to redress the current inequalities that exist in accessing support for these communities.
“We are also in the process of recruiting three Macmillan Cancer Support Workers for the breast, prostate and colorectal cancer teams within Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.
“A new Macmillan Health and Wellbeing Coordinator is also being recruited, this post was created following feedback from people affected by cancer. They identified a need to link and develop sustainable peer support options for people in the city and create information resources.
“The Macmillan Health and Wellbeing Coordinator role was shaped at a focus group we held for people affected by cancer last year. This new post will be hosted by our partners Cavendish Cancer Care and will also look into developing city-based support for younger people (25-50 years) with incurable cancer.
“We are also working closely with our partner Weston Park Cancer Charity who are developing a project to deliver outreach services in the community and a single point of contact in the city for people in need of support.
“We intend to run events for people affected by cancer every quarter in Sheffield, these events will be supported by the new Macmillan Health and Wellbeing Coordinator role.”
We will bring you more updates on the Macmillan Living With And Beyond Cancer Programme from across South and Mid Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.