Right now in Wales, 120,000 people are living with cancer. Many live rurally, more so in rural areas than in England or Scotland: 33% of people here do so (NHS Wales), compared with 17% in England (ONS) and Scotland (Scottish Government). This means that many people here face long journeys to access life-saving treatments.
We build Mobile Support Units to make things easier. Warm and welcoming, clinically-safe to the strictest NHS protocols, a unit may seem a strange place to get treatment – until someone you know experiences this, and the difference they make becomes plain:
Our Mobile Support Units: Care and Support Across Wales
Being at the Mobile Support Unit made me feel more positive. It was a more hopeful experience, it made me feel like everything’s going to be alright.”
Operating at full capacity throughout this winter, these unique innovations (two of which are still the world’s largest mobile chemotherapy vehicle) inevitably cost no small amount to run. Their day-to-day costs are met by our generous supporters, not least the Garfield Weston Foundation.
A family founded grant-maker that gives money to support hundreds of charities across the UK, in total the Foundation donates around £90 million each year, with £90,000 of that currently going to the Mobile Support Units.
The Foundation exist to make sure charities can deliver their vital work across the UK. They have been amazing supporters of the Mobile Support Units since 2012, a decade that has seen more than 30,000 treatments administered on board: a way forward for cancer care here in Wales today.
