Salus journal

Healthy Planet. Healthy People.

Cancer care / New models of care

European Healthcare Design 2017

Keynote address: Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres – the value of design in maintaining the joy of life for people living with cancer

By Laura Lee 26 Jul 2017 0

Maggie Keswick Jencks lived with advanced cancer for two years. During that time, she and her husband Charles Jencks worked closely with her medical team, which included oncology nurse Laura Lee, now Maggie’s chief executive, to develop a new approach to cancer care.


Download the slides for this video presentation


Abstract

Maggie’s Keswick Jencks’ vision was for a non-clinical place in hospital grounds where people with cancer, and their families and friends, could find practical, emotional and social support. Today, there are 20 Maggie’s Centres across the UK – and in Tokyo and Hong Kong – designed by leading architects and founded on her belief that people should not “lose the joy of living in the fear of dying”.

In this keynote address, Laura Lee explores Maggie’s design and care philosophy, as well as the evidenced impact these amazing spaces have on the physical and mental wellbeing of people living with cancer.

As Laura shares Maggie’s remarkable story and the charity’s trail- blazing journey spanning the last 21 years, we will hear how great architecture and design have enabled Maggie’s Centres to create calming and supportive environments, in which 220,000 visitors every year receive high-quality, people-centred care and support.

Organisations involved