Tuesday 13 July 2021
Our centre in the grounds of University Hospital Southampton is now supporting people with cancer, as well as their family and friends.
Like all our centres, the professional team provide help and information and run groups and activities, all designed to make coping with cancer easier.
The centre is open to see people alongside digital support. By appointment or by dropping in if in the hospital anyway. Support by professional staff is available face to face in the centre or by phone, email or online to help people with stress, fear and anxiety as well as money worries and questions about eating well and sleep.
Alyson Lownie has been supported by the centre since March 2021 as she finished her last cycle of chemotherapy for lung cancer. The centre team helped Alyson to not only manage her own cancer but also to come to terms with her youngest son's diagnosis just three months after her own. She visits the centre for information and support and a comfortable and safe place to wait whilst her son undergoes chemotherapy.
Alyson Lownie said:
To me, Maggie’s is a place where I do not have to filter how I am feeling or the latest news on my treatment. I can speak honestly and not worry about the impact my words will have. Living with cancer is just that, living. It’s not all about treatment, at Maggie’s you’ll find patients and their families sharing stories and information about cancer but also talking about their weekend, signing up for classes, and laughing. If you don’t want to join in then no one will mind, you will be welcomed and left to have a cup of tea, read a book or just gather your thoughts. Maggie’s is an oasis of calm in the turbulence of life with cancer.
University Hospital Southampton (UHS) NHS Foundation Trust is the specialist cancer hub for Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands and last year alone, over 22,500 people from these areas received a new cancer diagnosis, highlighting the importance of the new centre which can now provide much needed free support to those living with cancer as well as their family and friends. The support in the centre complements the treatments received by people of all ages and with any type of cancer, as well as the research taking place at Southampton hospital.
David French, chief executive of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said:
The new Maggie’s is a fantastic facility and is already making a real difference to our patients and their families. The centre provides a breathing space away from the hospital where patients can meet people who understand what they’re going through or just take a quiet moment to reflect. I am delighted that we’re working together to enhance the range of cancer care services on offer in our hospital to support our patients.
The centre has been designed by AL_A, the award-winning architecture studio founded by RIBA Stirling Prize-winning architect Amanda Levete with landscaping by Sarah Price.
At Maggie’s we know that great design and architecture can help the people in need of support feel better – and also to help the professional staff to give the best possible cancer support. The new centre is a unique place that fits perfectly into its surroundings – a home from home that’s designed to feel nothing like a hospital.
The centre is a calm, friendly and welcoming place, full of light and warmth. It has a kitchen table at its heart, offers glimpses and views of nature and provides thoughtful spaces to find privacy, as well as places to come together as a group.
Dame Laura Lee, Chief Executive at Maggie’s said:
I am absolutely thrilled with our newest centre designed by Amanda Levete and her team at AL_A. They have interpreted our brief beautifully and their exacting attention to detail has created a stunning building with large windows that flood the centre with natural light. Their play on inside and outside space and the close working relationship with landscaper Sarah Price has created a garden that will give people with cancer and our staff views of greenery on all sides. Intimate rooms allow for privacy whilst the communal spaces bring people together around a kitchen table to share their stories and support one another.
Amanda Levete, Principal of AL_A said:
We have imagined that a piece of garden has been transported from the New Forest into the midst of the hospital’s concrete landscape, bringing serenity and a bit of magic to the place.
Sarah Price said:
In making this garden I wanted to bring nature closer to people. I’ve chosen plants that bring atmosphere throughout the seasons. A closely knitted composition of trees - birch with creamy pink stems, Prunus serrula with shiny cherry-red bark and the aromatic scent of Scots Pine will greet visitors to the centre, transporting them into a beautiful woodland glade.
For more information about Maggie's Southampton or to find out how we can support you, please call us on 023 8212 4549 and follow us on Facebook @maggiesinsouthampton and Twitter @maggiessoton for the latest news and stories.
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