Desmond McGuire

The Counselling service was set up and funded by the Get A-Head Charity to support and counsel patients and their carers who attend the Head & Neck Unit. If there are any issues as a result of illness worrying a patient (or their carers or relatives), talking it through with a trained counsellor (Des McGuire, pictured right) can help reduce the stress and help them sort through their emotions, reactions and immediate thoughts on their diagnosis. This in turn can help them focus and adjust to new and more effective ways of coping and healing. The counselling service makes use of techniques that explore patients thoughts and feelings and consequently helps them logically examine options, to help them develop their own personal options, to help them develop their own personal strategy and plan for the future, helping them stay in control as much as possible.The service was not set up as a replacement for the support from existing hospital services but as a response to the psychological care gaps in the existing NHS Service. It is a complementary service to the existing psychological support given by the multidisciplinary team. This service is mainly for head and neck patients with disorders treated on East 5.

Our main aims are:

To provide psychological support at the time of diagnosis of an illness. To provide specialist support/counselling before, during and after surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. To provide written information and advice as needed about head & neck cancer and other conditions and treatment. To provide emotional support for patients and carers with an option for structured counselling with a qualified counsellor before, during and after treatment. To offer patients and their carers the opportunity to meet with others who have been through similar treatment/experiences through support groups. To undertake research to identify patient preference in psychological support and counselling in order to ensure patient centred care.

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