Macmillan Information Centre, praised by cancer patients and families, awarded with national quality accreditation
Patients and visitors using the Macmillan Information Centre at Royal Derby Hospital have commended the "welcoming and friendly" environment, and the department "exceeding the level to retain" a quality standard called the Macmillan Quality Environment Mark (MQEM) after an independent review in July 2025.
The MQEM recognises centres that go the extra mile to meet the needs of people impacted by cancer by creating welcoming, friendly and person-centred physical care spaces
In the assessment, colleagues were commended for acting on recommendations from the last review while also making more improvements that enhance service user experience. The team worked innovatively to plan, resource and action the improvements, while also balancing providing day-to-day services to existing users.
People living with cancer or supporting someone who has cancer deserve to access welcoming, supportive and inclusive care environments that are accessible and person-centred - the MQEM standard helps set a nationally consistent approach to deliver this, ensuring that care providers centre the needs and voice of service users when designing physical cancer care environments.
Chloe Briggs, a cancer patient and her husband regularly use the centre. Chloe shared, "The Macmillan centre has been a place of real comfort and relief during an incredibly stressful time. Rebecca and MJ [staff at the centre] have always been so helpful, supportive and welcoming. Visiting is always a nice experience, I can’t recommend them enough."
Another service user, Lyndsey, attends the centre regularly with her husband Geoff, who is a cancer patient at the Trust, and said: " The information centre is in a brilliant location, on the same corridor as most of the cancer services. This means that you can easily pop in between appointments, and it is good for people with limited mobility.
"Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be very scary and settings can feel very clinical, so having somewhere friendly and welcoming where you can get advice (and a cup of tea) in a confidential setting is invaluable. We are very grateful to the team there. "
The assessment centre was praised for:
Enhancing the experience, comfort, privacy and dignity of service users by setting up a dedicated space for hair loss services and a more inclusive display of wigs for patients experiencing hair loss, improved privacy by hanging a curtain between rooms with an open doorway and placed a decorative screen in the multipurpose room to block the view from a staff working area.
Improving accessibility by updating information packs given to patients upon diagnosis based on service user feedback, updating hospital maps, improving signage in hospital corridors leading to the centre, re-arranging the information store cupboard to make the right information easier to find by service users, and giving all rooms in the centre names also chosen by service users.
Upgrading general facilities by introducing tea and coffee facilities, installed wheelchair friendly bins in toilets, new chairs provided by charitable donation from local company, Markem Imaje (www.markem-imaje.com) chosen by service users in the shared group room and lounge, introduced a room booking system and launched a formal induction programme and newsletter for centre volunteers.
The Macmillan Information Centre provides patients, families and visitors with information, advice, and support services throughout their cancer journey. Lead Nurse for Macmillan Information Centre, Mandy-Jayne Gray, commented, ''Retaining this mark from the last review in 2022 is a testament to the hard work, time and effort that the team and our volunteers have invested to create a welcoming and supportive environment for users.
'MJ' Mandy-Jane Gray, Lead Nurse for the Macmillan Centre pictured with the quality award along with some centre service users.
We worked closely with the people our centre aims to serve to make these improvements and act on the previous review's recommendations - the user feedback in the report reflects that these changes, which are relatively small, have made a big impact on those using the centre - which are mainly patients impacted by cancer, and their loved ones.''
She continued, "Like all NHS and healthcare services, we are working with limited and finite resources - so it makes this achievement all the more welcome as we have worked differently and flexibly to deliver day-to-day services while also secure the funds and staffing resource to bring these improvements to life."
The report captured user feedback taken at the time of the review, which described the 'very welcoming' environment and 'lovely ambience', and that the centre 'have got the balance right with the information resources'.
What is the MQEM ?
This standard was developed in 2010 to set out 'what good looks like' for cancer facilities and whether they meet the needs of patients and others impacted by cancer. MQEM aims to set high standards for cancer care environments, so that spaces are designed, managed and used to support quality cancer care while improving the experience of people using the facilities. The mark was developed using published research on environments that provide cancer care and the voice of over 400 people impacted by cancer.
The mark looks at whether the environments and facilities are:
- welcoming and accessible to all;
- respects the privacy and dignity of all users;
- supports the comfort and well-being of all users;
- gives users choice and control; and
- listens to the users’ voice.
Find out more about the MQEM here > and about the Macmillan Information Centres at UHDB here >.