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Date: 22 May 2012
Time: 17:08
Library project helps cancer patients
Story posted/last updated: 15 March 2011
A Weoley Castle project is working with cancer patients as part of a West Midlands-wide effort to give public libraries a bigger role in the health and well-being of the community.
The project is being funded by the Public Library Health and Social Care Offer, and is designed to help cancer patients recover by providing a relaxing environment alongside people who have shared experiences.
The group of patients from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston meets weekly to read aloud and discuss stories and poems, providing an escape from the worries of living with illness.
Mandy Ross, the group co-ordinator said: “Participants often say that when you’re ill and you can’t work, you get isolated so it is important to have regular things to get you out of the house and talking to other people. Others have commented that they get so absorbed in the stories and discussion that they find it very relaxing.”
One patient, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I look forward to coming. I leave the group happy, optimistic.”
“It can take an effort to come, but I always feel better, lifted, energised after I’ve been. What would I change about the group? Nothing – I'd like a group going on every morning, afternoon and evening somewhere in the city.”
The group meets from 14:00 – 15:30 on Tuesday afternoons at Weoley Castle Library, and is an example of how local authorities will respond to their increased responsibilities for delivering public health in the future.
“The Public Library Health and Social Care Offer has been developed by West Midlands Society of Chief Librarians (SCL), in partnership with The Reading Agency, as part of a regional advocacy campaign promoting the impact of public libraries on the health and well being of local people,” said Kate Millin, Assistant Director, Libraries, Archives and Adult Learning, Dudley.
Public libraries will become key partners for the health and social care sector, advocating the important contribution local services are making to improving the health and well being of the communities they serve. The shift of responsibility for public health from the health service to local authorities makes this a timely rallying call for the positive health benefits libraries can deliver.
The West Midlands Public Library Health and Social Care Offer is the centrepiece of a partnership developed by The Reading Agency, the independent charity working to inspire more people to read more. The toolkit brings together examples of good local practice by libraries with the wider evidence base for the role of public libraries and reading in delivering health and social care outcomes for partners and local people.
Debbie Hicks, Director of Research at The Reading Agency, said recent research had demonstrated that public libraries made an important contribution to health, well-being and social care: “The West Midlands approach is a pioneering development in that it makes clear how libraries can support the health and social care agenda and the work of local, regional and national health partners in supporting healthier and happier communities.”
To receive a copy of the West Midlands Public Library Health and Social Care offer, please contact Kate Millin on:
Telephone: 01384 814 745
Email: Kate.Millin@dudley.gov.uk
To book a place with the Weoley Castle Patients’ Reading Group, call:
Telephone: 0121 464 1664
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