Award for Nightingale Breast Care Centre
“We’re delighted to have been given this prestigious award. It reflects the hard work and dedication of the team that designed the centre and all the staff and volunteers who work to make it a welcoming and supportive environment for patients and their families.”
Mr Ashu Gandhi
Clinical Director, Nightingale Breast Cancer Centre at UHSM
The Nightingale Centre based at University Hospital of South Manchester (UHSM), has been awarded the Macmillan Quality Environment Mark, which recognises and rewards good practice and high standards within the physical environment of a cancer care building.
The centre is among the first sites to be given the new award, which is the first of its kind in the UK and has been developed in collaboration with people living with cancer and organisations including the Department of Health.
Nicola Cook, National Project Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, explains how environments are assessed; “To receive the award, environments have to score highly in areas such as use of space, comfort and atmosphere, personal and social interaction and health and well being. Consideration is given to such things as the greeting people receive when they come to a centre, the use of natural light and outdoor space, and the availability of quiet, private rooms – all areas that were highlighted as really important by people living with cancer who helped develop the award.”
The Nightingale Centre was opened in 2007 at a cost of £14 million. It houses ‘three centres in one’ – the Nightingale Centre (the NHS clinical service for breast cancer screening and diagnosis); the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Centre (for research into prevention, screening and early diagnosis); and an Education Centre (for training breast cancer specialists).
The building, which sees around 25,000 patients pass through its doors annually, was designed in consultation with breast cancer patients. A striking 8m by 5m stained-glass window – in vibrant colours to project a positive and uplifting welcome – dominates the front of the building, creating a bright, atrium-like feel in the interior.
The Macmillan Quality Environment Mark will help to ensure that people affected by cancer are treated and supported in physical environments of uniformly high quality. The scheme is open to any healthcare providers from the public, voluntary or private sectors who operate cancer care buildings.