ACCESS at ARDGOWAN

The impact of coming to terms with a diagnosis of life limiting illness, treatment, then continuing your life afterwards can put a strain on patients and those who care for them.

In Access,the information and support team offers support in an environment which is designed to be calm, restful and welcoming.  We are based at 2 Ardgowan Street, one block along from the main hospice building, close to Greenock West railway station and bus links.

A Drop-In Facility

We realise that you may feel unable to commit yourself to an appointment so please feel free just to drop in.  We know life limiting illness affects not only patients, but also their families and carers.  Being told that you or someone close to you has life limiting illness can be an overwhelming experience, you may have questions or want to discuss what you have been told, or you may just want to talk through the practical things or have a chance to sit in peace.  We will try to answer any questions you have quickly or direct you to a more appropriate person.  We are open Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm to anyone affected by life limiting illness.  We know that sometimes it is not easy to talk over worries or concerns with family or firends - we can help by giving a bit of extra support when needed and would aim to help you develop strategies for coping.

Our weekly programme is as follows:

Our service includes:

Relaxation  regular classes are run for patients and cerers.  We can also run individual relaxation sessions for those who cannot attend the classes.

Complementary Therapies  benefits from complementary therapies include reduction in stress levels and improvement in the immune system.  Even just the chance of some "me time" for relaxation can help you to cope better.

Hypnotherapy  at Access, clinical hypnotherapy is used for relaxation, stress management, and to help with anxiety, phobias and pain.  It is often successful where other methods have been prone to unwanted side effects.

Access Education Programme New for 2006-07  we have a series of new courses, redesigned for specific life limiting illnesss.  This will give short courses, lasting 4 weeks, where the information is more appropriate to individual patients.  The programme will involve guest speakers and there will be an opportunity to ask any questions you may have as well as time to meet others affected by the same type of life limiting illness.  The first of these courses will be for Lung life limiting illness and starts on 7th Nov 2006.

Support Group  for patients with Breast life limiting illness meet fortnightly and monthly, and the life limiting illness Issues for Men group runs on alternate Friday afternoons.

Top Notch  unfortunately one of the side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy may be hair loss.  Not all chemotherapy will cause hair loss.  There are various techniques for dealing with this, including wigs, scarves and hats.  While we cannot provide wigs, we stock a wide range of scarves and an easy to put on version if you are too uncomfortable after surgery or feel too tired for the effort of tying a scarf.

New for 2006! Stress Management  all sorts of events in life can cause stress including coping with illness.  We run a 6 week course looking at the effect stress can have and self-help techniques to reduce stress.  The next course starts on Friday 3rd November 2 to 3.30pm.  Please call for more information.

Tai Chi  (sometimes called Qigong) has been practised in eastern countries for thousands of years.  In oreintal medicine, ill health is viewed in terms of energy and energy flow through the body.  The meaning of Tai Chi is energy and exercise or work. The exercises are easy to learn.  Tai Chi is reported to be effective for a range of problems including fatigue, insomnia and backahe.  Other benefits are the ability to relax and can help to reduce stress.  Classes for patients are held weekly.

Yoga  can give benefits despite your age or level of fitness.  As you focus on posture, breathing and relaxation, effective relief from muscle tension and associated pain can occur.  Yoga is also recognised as having a beneficial effect for tiredness and fatigue.  A weekly class is held for patients.

Library  our library of books, booklets, advice sheets and videos has information on topics ranging from treatments to healthy living and exercise, which can be borrowed by patients or carers.  We also have access to the internet and can give some assistance if you are note sure how to use the computer or the internet to find information.