Christmas Star Appeal: Shining the light on our Weston Park Hospital Stars
We’re shining the light onto some of our amazing staff from both Weston Park Hospital and Weston Park Cancer Charity.
We’ve spoken to Liz Purnell, Teenage Cancer Trust Lead Nurse for South Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, and North Derbyshire about her inspirations, Christmas wishes and what it means to work with us.
What inspires you to work/volunteer at Weston Park Cancer Charity?
The young people I work with inspire me. As a team we are very small and cover a large region. We work closely with Weston Park Cancer Charity who help us by supporting us financially and practically.
What does it mean to you to work/be involved at the charity?
Weston Park Cancer Charity helps us to support teenagers and young adults from across the region.
We are fortunate to have access to a ringfenced pot of money which we can use to support our patients.
Things we use this money for include body image work, hardship grants, funeral grants, peer support and Wi-Fi so young people can use streaming services or play online games with their friends.
The fact we have access to this means that we can support young people on a more practical level, which we wouldn’t be able to do without the charity’s support.
Do you have a Christmas wish for the charity?
I think my wish for the charity is for more people to know about the TYA fund and how this helps us provide added support both financially and practically directly to patients.
We are able to support young people aged 13-24 years old with a cancer diagnosis on a one-to-one level.
We meet them wherever they feel more comfortable. This could be at home, hospital or even in a coffee shop.
By having this flexibility and access to funds means that we can see patients across the region and try and bring a sense of normality back to them. We see the patient and their needs first, and their diagnosis second.
Favourite Christmas film and song?
My favourite movie is Elf and song is the classic Last Christmas by Wham!
Find out more about our Christmas Star Appeal 2023, by clicking here - www.westonpark.org.uk/christmas-star-appeal-2023
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