Stagecoach East bus professionals tour local cancer support centre

Health & Wellbeing Champions from Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire’s biggest bus operator have visited a major cancer support charity to understand their work and get advice on how to support their colleagues.

Stagecoach East’s Tracey-Anne Hancox, Angela Carey, Ainsley Ottley and Paul Baker met with staff and volunteers from Maggie’s, a charity that provides free cancer support, at its Cambridge centre at Addenbrookes Hospital.

Maggie’s delivers free psychological, emotional, and practical support for everyone living with cancer. People with a diagnosis, as well as family and friends, can visit the centre and speak to clinical psychologists, benefits advisors, and cancer-support specialists.

Their team help people take back control when cancer turns life upside down, with professional support for anything from treatment side-effects to money worries. All of their support is free, and an appointment or referral are not needed – you can just come in. There is no need to book and there are no time limits.

The majority of the centre’s visitors come from Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Huntingdonshire, and Hertfordshire, and others come from Bedford, Peterborough, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk.

Tracey-Anne said: “Walking in to a Maggie’s centre is like being welcomed into a friend’s kitchen or home – you are more likely to feel comfortable talking about this, often difficult, subject. We do not hesitate to recommend Maggie’s support to our colleagues, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them.”

Darren Roe, Managing Director of Stagecoach East, said: “We are so proud of our relationship with Maggie’s, they are an inspiration and there are so many parallels between their work and the work that all that our own Health & Wellbeing Champions do in supporting our colleagues at East.

“Our Champions do a wonderful job, providing support where appropriate, and signposting colleagues on to experts where that is the right thing to do.

“The wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority at Stagecoach East, and it is through relationships with wonderful charities like Maggie’s that we can provide the best support.”

• To find out more about the work done by Maggie’s, please go to www.maggies.org.