Developing Volunteer led services
Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. Our ambition is to reach and improve the lives of everyone living with cancer and to inspire millions of others to do the same. We provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care.
We know that nearly 1 in 2 of us will get cancer, and that there are currently 2 million people living with cancer in the UK. As people are living longer with and beyond cancer we estimate that this will double to 4 million by 2030.
Macmillan provides support to people affected by cancer throughout their cancer journey, every step of the way. Through research people affected by cancer told us that they felt a sense of abandonment after completing their treatment. 1 in 4 people diagnosed with cancer report that they don’t have anyone to support them and as a result they feel isolated and lonely. 1 in 5 people living with cancer feel lonely after diagnosis.
Daily Living Strategy
The Daily Living Strategy was set out in 2010 as part of what’s now the social care programme, and contains various pieces of research and references. Here is one extract:
“Whether going through treatment for cancer, transitioning to survivorship, undergoing palliative care, or becoming a carer, people need help and support. Research by Macmillan demonstrates that 45% of people find the emotional aspects of cancer most difficult to cope with and 13% say that the impact of not being able to manage practical daily living tasks is difficult.”
The research also shows that a quarter of all carers of people with cancer feelabandoned and two-thirds experience anxiety.
This research identified a need for practical and emotional support for people affected by cancer. To address this, one solution we identified was to provide support to people living with cancer during and after treatment in their community. This was in line with our 2009 Volunteering Strategy which stated: “Macmillan’s vision for volunteering is that Macmillan volunteers will be at the heart of Macmillan’s work and at the heart of every community, so that the growing numbers of people living with and beyond cancer receive the holistic care and support they need”
A volunteer-led model
We developed and piloted a UK-wide volunteer-led model that would provide direct services to meet the practical and emotional support needs that were identified by people affected by cancer. The evaluation of this pilot led to us putting in place the infrastructure to support these schemes – various policies and procedures – as well as investing in 12 paid posts across the UK to deliver the schemes.
In Wales, we looked at our local knowledge and intelligence across Wales. Carmarthenshire stood out to be an area of huge need, demand for the services, and was also warm to Macmillan. We ran a consultation event and over 100 people attended.
Our direct volunteering services model comprises of lead volunteers who help to coordinate the service schemes and volunteer support buddies who provide the practical and/or emotional support. Typical activities include: befriending, housework and shopping.
The new volunteer-led model was set up 18 months ago, and we are gradually building these services. Delivering direct services is a new area for Macmillan so we are also developing our reputation in this area. We have four schemes in Carmarthenshire; this includes two practical and emotional support schemes, a bereavement support scheme and a telephone support scheme.
Our key focus is on building links with health and social care to develop our referral pathways, and we are continuously learning!
So what’s next? The schemes have been successful on a small scale, it is meeting those unmet needs identified by people affected by cancer, and the plan and hope it that they continue to grow and scale up across the UK.
In Carmarthenshire the hope is that we can grow the number of referrals, set up more local projects and recruit more volunteers so that the scheme reaches everyone living with cancer in Carmarthenshire. We then hope to set up more projects across Wales – so that no one in Wales faces cancer alone.
Rachel Biggs
Macmillan Cancer Support