Having to deal with the trauma of being treated for Cancer will be made just a little more bearable thanks the provision of some new furniture for the waiting room in Leeds General Infirmary’s (LGI) Oncology Day Care Clinic.
Patients will have the benefit of using new chairs and tables thanks to the charity Candlelighters who have been awarded a grant of £2,500 by the Freemasons’ West Riding Masonic Community Fund towards funding the purchase of the new equipment.
The Candlelighters’ application was supported by members of The Leeds Lodge who recognised that some of the procedures can be quite daunting especially for children and wanted to make the waiting room as welcoming as possible.
The clinic is used by patients from Leeds and across Yorkshire, who are having treatment such as chemotherapy and other procedures.
Simon Penny-Smith, Worshipful Master of The Leeds Lodge, said:
‘We were impressed by the Candlelighters’ project and wanted to help so we were really pleased that our application to the West Riding Masonic Community Fund was successful.’
A spokesman for Candlelighters said “The current furniture is tired and worn and in urgent need of replacing. Supporting the children’s oncology wards and the Oncology and Haematology Day Unit at the Clinic is a large part of our work.
‘These procedures are very daunting for the children, and we want to make the waiting room as welcoming as possible.
Some families may be in hospital for a significant amount of time, and we want to make that difficult time a little easier. We work hard to make the wards and clinic feel less clinical and more enjoyable.
This project is part of our wider project at Leeds LGI which includes renovating the staff rooms on the Oncology wards, which went ahead in October 2022.
Previous work carried out by Candlelighters at the hospital includes providing all of the televisions across three of the wards and an interactive projector on one ward for the patients to play with.
We also provide art décor for the walls in clinic and the wards. In addition, the arts and crafts for the children on the oncology wards, day unit and radiotherapy are also funded by Candlelighters, as well as Birthday boxes for patients.’