Mobile Lymphoedema Clinic in Dorset continues operating, thanks to a £21,000 grant from Walk the Walk

Lewis-Manning Hospice Care’s Mobile Lymphoedema Clinic parked at AFC Bournemouth

Left to right: Esmarie Jones and Maria Wyatt (both Lewis-Manning Hospice Care), Jennifer Broh (Walk the Walk), Amy Marks and Kyle Taylor (both AFC Bournemouth), Linda Sjollema (LMHC), Zeno Ibsen Rossi (AFC Bournemouth), Clare Gallie (LMHC), Jimmy Glass (AFC Bournemouth)

Thanks to our fantastic supporters “Walking the Walk” during recent Virtual events, we’re thrilled to be making another Emergency Covid Grant. Lewis-Manning Hospice Care have received £21,000, which will help keep the charity’s new Mobile Lymphoedema Clinic open for another three months.

Earlier in the year, Lewis-Manning Hospice Care launched a new Mobile Clinic to support and treat cancer patients in Dorset with lymphoedema. This is a painful side effect of a patient’s cancer treatment, which occurs when the body’s drainage system doesn’t work properly. It can often lead to severe swelling in the arms, legs, feet and other parts of the body, causing mobility problems, acute pain and potential infections.

The mobile clinic is part of the hospice’s plan to bring its services closer to people’s homes, a particularly important issue for vulnerable cancer patients during the pandemic.

AFC Bournemouth are also supporting the clinic, by allocating space for the unit to park up each week in the car park at the Vitality Stadium.

Clare Gallie, Chief Executive of Lewis-Manning Hospice Care said: 
“We are delighted with this support from ‘Walk the Walk’.  The pilot has been a great success for Lymphoedema patients over the last 2 months, bringing treatment and services closer to home and giving patients the ability to get to their appointments more easily and receive their vital treatment in a relaxed and stress-free environment.  The extended pilot will allow us to support even more people closer to their homes. 

“The clinic is open every Thursday from 9am to 5.30pm at AFC Bournemouth car park at Kings Park in Boscombe, with plenty of free parking for patients, meaning local people do not have to deal with the stress and costs of travelling to the hospice which is based in Poole. 

“We also offer huge thanks to the football club for their generous support in hosting the mobile clinic, it makes a real difference to the lives of our patients and their ability to access our services with ease.”

Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk said:“We are delighted that our grant awarded to Lewis-Manning Hospice Care will allow them to run an extended pilot study on their mobile Lymphoedema Support Unit for June through to August. During these very uncertain and worrying times, this charity’s role in providing support “Close to Home” for cancer patients in Dorset is absolutely crucial – lymphoedema can be one of the most painful side effects of cancer treatment. Grants like these are very exciting news for Walk the Walk’s wonderful fundraisers, who have continued taking part in virtual walking events throughout the pandemic. Thanks to these fantastic people, we can continue helping to make a difference where we can, and where it is needed most”. 

Amy Marks, Partnerships Manager at AFC Bournemouth said:
“We are so pleased to have the mobile unit on our site as we had heard about the fantastic services that the hospice is bringing out in the community to patients, it’s a real pleasure to host every week.” 

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