Celebration of Christie Hospital CAM unit at House of Lords
The achievements of the Complementary Therapies Unit at Christie Hospital NHS -Trust Manchester were recently celebrated at a special reception in the House of Lords.
The event, held in the Cholmondely rooms, was hosted by The Baroness Barker of Anagach in Highland - Liberal Spokesperson on Health matters in the House of Lords, and co-hosted by ICM advisor Lord Ken Ward-Atherton of Witley & Hurcott Worcestershire, assisted by ICM/BRCP Practitioner Mr.Ken Bird.
The Christie Hospital Complementary Therapies service was started in 2000 with only two therapists. It now has more than 33 therapists, administering a range of natural treatments to patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy for various types of cancer. There are several therapies available including aromatherapy, reflexology, acupuncture, massage and counselling
Apart from being an advisor to the Institute, Ken Ward-Atherton is also an NHS Healthcare professional and presently patron of the Complementary Therapies Unit at the hospital. He has been practice with Kenneth Bird in Liverpool for the past 25 years, where they have a busy clinic which specialises in classical homeopathy, western acupuncture, and psychotherapy
At present patients and their carers and also staff members can receive treatment free of charge. All the funding for this NHS service is raised by donations - various charity events are held throughout the year. In addition, courses are held in conjunction with the University of Salford which all helps increase revenues for the unit.
Lord Ward-Atherton said "We have several further projects in the pipeline in the coming year, to help raise money for this service, which has continued to help countless numbers of patients with cancer for the past six years".