The hospice provides free care to thousands of patients with life-limiting illnesses from across Greater Manchester every year, and also provides invaluable support to their families and carers.
The Centre is named after Neil Cliffe, who knew from personal experience the value of getting patient care right. Neil underwent an operation for cancer of the colon at Wythenshawe Hospital in 1981 and decided to raise money to buy equipment for his surgeon’s department.
Spurred on and determined to help, Neil managed to gather an army of supporters, and raised a staggering £1 million to build the specialist Neil Cliffe Centre at the hospital – the first centre of its kind to be built within an NHS hospital, and a vision that was copied nationally. The centre has helped thousands of people ever since, and continues to do so now even more than ever.
How can the Neil Cliffe Centre support you?
The team of experienced health care professionals at the Neil Cliffe Centre provides supportive care at any stage of illness, from diagnosis, during treatment, post treatment and at times of reoccurrence. Support is offered to people with a cancer diagnosis and for those affected by other conditions such as motor neurone, multiple sclerosis, chronic pulmonary disease and other life-limiting illnesses.
Support for patients and carers
The philosophy at the Neil Cliffe Centre is that every patient is an individual. The staff at the centre take time to listen to concerns and work with each patient individually to try and obtain optimal physical, social and psychological wellbeing, within the limits created by their illnesses and treatment.
Services can help with a range of physical, psychological, emotional and social issues, including:
- Managing symptoms such as pain, fatigue and breathlessness
- Promoting independence with gentle exercise and physiotherapy
- Helping with relaxation and stress management through creative activities, group work, or one to one individual sessions – including a range of complementary therapies
- Support for those looking after people with life-limiting illnesses
What happens when you come to the Neil Cliffe Centre?
Anyone can pop into the Centre to find out more about the services on offer.
At referral, patients will be offered an appointment with a keyworker, and this is an opportunity to discuss details of a patient’s illness, and any concerns in a safe, confidential environment. Following this assessment, a plan of care will be offered which may include referral to other specialist services within the Neil Cliffe Centre team. This will be developed to meet the needs of each patient as an individual.
A programme of rehabilitation may include:
- Acupuncture
- Bereavement support
- Body image interventions
- Headstart for hair loss
- Managing breathlessness sessions
- Complementary therapy (e.g. massage or reflexology)
- Counselling
- Dietary advice
- Physiotherapy
- Psychological support
- Social work
- Spiritual support
- Consultant-led medical clinic
- Fatigue management
- Group activities
- Creative therapy sessions
How to access the Neil Cliffe Centre:
St Ann’s Hospice is a charity and all services, including the Neil Cliffe Centre, are provided to patients and carers free of charge.
To access the Neil Cliffe Centre, patients and carers do not necessarily need to be referred by a healthcare professional – please drop in, or if the Centre is closed, please contact the team for more information, using the details below:
Telephone: 0161 291 2912
Email: enquiries@sah.org.uk
Website: www.sah.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stannshospice
Twitter: @StAnnsHospice