Local charity St Giles Hospice has strengthened its Complementary Therapy Department with the appointment of two coordinators and is now looking for volunteers to support their vital work.

Dawn Sumner, a qualified and experienced complementary therapist, is heading up provision in the hospice’s Out-Patient Unit with Amanda Davies, a nurse and qualified aromatherapist, steering the service in the In-Patient Unit.

Therapies, including reflexology, Reiki, aromatherapy, and Indian head massage, are available to patients at the hospice, which cares for local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses, and their carers.

Dawn, who lives in Atherstone, explains: “Complementary therapies offer patients and their carers extensive benefits including helping to reduce anxiety, regulating sleep patterns and easing depression.

“Recent research shows that if patients are more relaxed then their pain medication can be more effective.

“Cancer patients can also take advantage of complementary therapies even when they are receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

“And, of course, sessions offer patients the opportunity to escape the medical environment and experience something pleasurable.”

While Dawn and Amanda each have specific challenges particular to their departments, they will be working closely together to determine the direction the service will take.

Amanda, who lives near Hednesford, says: “The department is currently staffed by a small, but dedicated team of volunteer qualified therapists.

“We are now seeking to recruit and nurture new volunteers to enable the service to grow.”

Dawn adds: “We are also looking at expanding the treatments available - particularly those which have proven clinical benefits - and to do this we require qualified complementary therapists who are willing to volunteer a minimum of four hours of their time each week.

“In return they will receive the rare opportunity to gain experience in a palliative care setting.”

Therapists interested in volunteering at St Giles Hospice, should contact Volunteers Manager Lesley Stinton on 01543 432031 or e-mail lesley.stinton@ st-giles-hospice.org.uk.

St Giles Hospice is one of the best-known and most respected charities in the region, offering high-quality nursing and medical care for people with cancer and other serious illness, as well as providing support for their families and carers.

Patients come from across the hospice’s catchment area, which ranges from Ashby de la Zouch and Atherstone in the east, to Cannock and Walsall in the west – and from Burton and Uttoxeter in the north, to Sutton Coldfield and Coleshill in the south.

Care is offered either at the hospice in Whittington, near Lichfield, or in patients’ own homes across the region.

St Giles spends over £5million every year providing its specialist services. With just a third of this funded by the Government, the registered charity relies heavily on donations and fundraising – including proceeds from the St Giles Hospice Lottery and network of 14 charity shops.