Welcome to Maggie's Lanarkshire

Maggie's Lanarkshire interim service is now open at Wishaw General Hospital and offers a range of Maggie’s support services to help provide the tools to build a life beyond the disease. 

Lorrie Forsyth, Centre Head for Maggie’s Lanarkshire, said “I am delighted that we have a base in Lanarkshire where Maggie’s can welcome anybody affected by cancer through the doors, to access free of charge emotional and psychological support and practical information. We hope that Maggie’s will become a key resource for the cancer community in Lanarkshire.”

Judith Hope, General Manager for NHS Lanarkshire’s Women's, Cancer and Diagnostic Division, said: “The interim service is a welcome addition to cancer services in Lanarkshire and will offer patients and their families valuable support and advice".


Visitors to Maggie's Lanarkshire will be able to speak to a Cancer Support Specialist, Clinical Psychologist, take part in a group session such as a relaxation class, browse through the library, book an appointment for benefits advice or simply drop-in for a cup of tea and a chat. 

Find out more about the impact of the cancer support programme Maggie's offers in this video.

The Big Lottery Fund is supporting our interim service in Lanarkshire.

About the area

Maggie’s Lanarkshire will serve the West of Scotland Cancer Network, which has a population of around 2.5 million.

An interim Maggie’s Lanarkshire Facility has been available at Wishaw General Hospital since April 2008. NHS Lanarkshire are re-located their cancer treatment facilities from Wishaw General Hospital to Monklands Hospital, hence Maggie’s decision to build the permanent Maggie’s Lanarkshire Centre at Monklands Hospital.

There are approximately 3453 new diagnoses of cancer in the region per annum.

The Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation

The Foundation was established by the Scots golfer Colin Montgomerie in memory of his late mother Elizabeth, to provide support to people affected by cancer. In its first project, The Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation is raising funds to build a new centre in conjunction with the Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre in Lanarkshire to provide practical and emotional support to cancer patients, their families and carers.

"My mother's cancer had such a devastating effect on my family and, having visited Maggie's Centres myself, I know that the care they provide would have made a huge difference to us. I am also very pleased that the acclaimed architect, Neil Gillespie, is going to design the centre.”

Colin Montgomerie

The Architect

“This is an inspiring and exciting project to be working on. A Maggie’s brief is challenging for many reasons, it is a unique building type. A Maggie’s is all about a different kind of care, a care that is dispensed from a domestic scaled building yet it is not a house nor is it a hospital nor is it a church. Virtually all Maggie’s plans evolve from the kitchen table; around having somewhere to go to the moment you enter the building. Our plan too develops from the kitchen table outwards to the courtyards, the trees and beyond.”

Neil Gillespie of Reiach and Hall

Design

Our approach imagines a low lying building that negotiates the spaces between existing trees that define the northern boundary belt to the main hospital site.

The essence of the design is the creation of a matrix of courtyards that result in a porous building, an extension of the landscape that offers moments of visibility and outlook with places of privacy and inlook.

Awards

October 2011:
Roses Design Awards - Proposed Building of the Year 2011 - Gold
Credits: Architects: Reiach and Hall Architects Structural Engineer: SKM M&E Consultant: KJ Tait Engineers Landscape Architect: Rankin Fraser Lighting Consultant: Spiers Major Quantity Surveyor: CBA CDM Co-ordinator: Alexander Project Management