Rowcroft Hospice has secured a grant from the Sam Buxton Sunflower Healing Trust for a dedicated Reiki Therapist to work with patients and their families.
Reiki Therapist Hilda Kalap will join the hospice’s Complementary Therapy Team, which provides free of charge services to help patients and their families to relax during some of the most challenging and difficult days of their lives.
The range of therapies offered by the team includes Reiki, Aromatherapy, Reflexology Massage, Shiatsu and Bowen Technique.
Rowcroft’s Complementary Therapy Co-ordinator, Julie Milton, explained: “Often people living with a life-limiting illness feel most of their choices have been taken away from them, so it feels good to be able to offer a choice of services to our patients; to give them back some control and to provide them with a few moments of relief from their symptoms or situation.” She added: “We are delighted to be able to offer our patients and their families a dedicated Reiki practitioner.”
The grant received by the hospice will fund the Reiki Therapist position for 7.5 hours a week over the coming year, enabling Hilda to see a minimum of six patients on the hospice’s Inpatient Unit and at its Outpatient Centre.
Hilda said: “Reiki aims to bring about balance in mind, body and spirit.
“Through its profound relaxation effect it can help with pain and nausea, relieve worry and anxiety and treat needle phobias – a lot of the symptoms and situations I expect to come across working with patients and families at Rowcroft.”
The grant for the new post was secured following a visit to the hospice by two Trustees from the Sam Buxton Sunflower Healing Trust, who noted how impressed they were with Rowcroft’s Complementary Therapy service.
Angie Buxton-King, Trustee at Sam Buxton Healing Trust, said: “Our aim as a charity is to support patients and their families at every stage of their cancer journey. This includes respite and end of life care. Julie’s team at Rowcroft is therefore a natural fit for our charity’s work.
“We are delighted to be able to support the reach and scope of the Complementary Therapy Team by funding a new Reiki service at the hospice for a year.”
For more information about Rowcroft’s services and how you can help to support the hospice’s work by making a one off or monthly donation, visit www.rowcrofthospice.org.uk. For more information about the Sam Buxton Sunflower Healing Trust, visit www.cancertherapies.org.uk.