Prestwick mum joins fight to save Malcolm Sargent House
A campaign to save Prestwick's Malcolm Sargent House is in full swing after a petition opposing it's closure gathered more than 2000 signatures in 24 hours.
A campaign to save Prestwick's Malcolm Sargent House is in full swing after a petition opposing it's closure gathered more than 2000 signatures in 24 hours.
It was set up by volunteer Eileen Granger who has an MBE for raising around £350,000 pounds for the charity.
She started working at the seaside retreat after a holiday of her own - her son Ross was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and her family spent a week there after he'd completed his treatment.
She spoke to our reporter Natalie Crawford about the news...
The area's MSP John Scott wants the community to fight to keep it open.
He spoke to our political editor Alan Smith when the news broke...
It is Clic Sargent's only site in Scotland and costs half a million pounds a year to run.
Ellen Finlayson Assistant Director of Services, CLIC Sargent Scotland said:
“These are tough times for many charities, and CLIC Sargent is no different; we are finding it harder than ever to raise the money we need to fund our vital work with young cancer patients and their families.
“It is with great sadness, therefore, that we are proposing to close CLIC Sargent’s holiday facility Malcolm Sargent House in Prestwick.
“We’re really proud of the excellent quality service provided at Malcolm Sargent House, and understand the highly valued role it has played for families who have stayed there over the years.
“We are extremely grateful to the local community for the support Malcolm Sargent House has been given and we understand the inevitable sadness there will be about this proposal.
“We are proposing this closure to help ensure CLIC Sargent remains financially stable now and in the future, and can protect essential CLIC Sargent nursing and social care services across the UK.
“We understand the role the holiday service has played in supporting young cancer patients and families over the years and recognise the high esteem in which the service is held by those who have used it. However the service reaches a relatively small number of young cancer patients and families in a limited geographical area.
“We must prioritise and focus on those services that have the greatest impact on the largest number of children and young people with cancer and their families this includes our frontline services like CLIC Sargent nurses and social care professionals; and our Homes from Home located near hospitals where young cancer patients receive treatment.
”Currently CLIC Sargent is only able to provide this kind of support to 2 out of 3 young people diagnosed with cancer in the UK. In order to reach our goal of ensuring every child and young person with cancer and their families receive the vital emotional, practical and financial support they need, we must prioritise those services that they tell us make the most difference.
“In 2015 we opened our new Home from Home in Glasgow, Marion’s House, and we are raising funds so that we can invest a further £1m in the coming years on a new Home from Home in Edinburgh, responding to the fact that specialist cancer treatment hospitals for children in Glasgow and Edinburgh are relocating.
“If this proposal is agreed, our social care professionals will continue to work with families to access holidays provided by more than 30 holiday funders and charities, as we do elsewhere in the UK.”