Bournemouth North Rotary were delighted when we were invited to become a Golden Partner of Macmillan Caring Locally to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. The photograph shows many of our members and partners at one of our meetings at the West Hants Club.
Bournemouth North Rotary have been supporting Macmillan in Christchurch for many years both with the purchase of equipment and with donations towards everyday costs and the “Brick by Brick” building fund.
Opening in 1974 the Macmillan Unit at Christchurch Hospital is a Specialist Palliative Care Unit and Hospice for patients in South East Dorset and South West Hampshire. The charity, Macmillan Caring Locally, works in partnership with University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust to provide the services at the Macmillan Unit and in our community. The unit is supported and funded by Macmillan Caring Locally providing an exceptional standard of care and a homely environment for patients, their families and visitors. The charity also provides nursing and medical equipment to improve patient treatment and comfort.
The Macmillan Unit was awarded ‘Practice Development Status’ making it a Centre of Excellence for Palliative Care. The unit also received ‘The Princess Royal Training Award’ for the training and development of their volunteers in 2017 and were very proud to earn the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2018.
The charity funds the Family Support Team, Rehabilitation Team, the Community Specialist Palliative Care Nurses, the Hospice at Home Team, the virtual Day Centre and a number of senior medical staff roles at the Hospice. It also funds a team of Clinical Nurse Specialists permanently based at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.