A celebration event is being held to mark five years of care and support at what has been described as a ‘refuge’ for cancer patients in North Devon.
The Fern Centre at North Devon District Hospital opened its doors on July 28, 2020 following a £1.5m fundraising appeal by Royal Devon Hospitals Charity (then known as Over and Above).
During the last 5 years, it has provided thousands of local cancer patients and their families with a whole range of free counselling, complementary therapies, information and wellbeing support.
Centre manager Tara Jones said the Fern Centre had helped to meet a rising demand in North Devon for support for people living with and beyond cancer.
“People need financial, emotional and practical support, as well as medical treatment, but before the centre opened, the nearest support available was in Exeter, which is just too far for many unwell patients and their families to travel,” she said.
“We’re proud to be able to offer them that support ‘on their doorstep’ and have only been able to do this thanks to such incredible backing from the local community.
The Fern Centre was built by people in North Devon, for people in North Devon.
– Tara Jones, Fern Centre Manager
“The centre continues to be funded entirely by Royal Devon Hospitals Charity, and supported by our brilliant team of volunteers.”
Since opening its doors, the Fern Centre has offered wellbeing support to anyone in North Devon affected by cancer, including relatives and carers of cancer patients.
There have been more than 14,000 contacts to the centre in the last five years, including 73-year-old surfer, Eric Davies, from Braunton, who had surgery to remove his prostate gland in 2023 and said the centre had helped him to get back on his beloved surf board after treatment.
“Initially I thought like a lot of blokes, I won’t need to go there, but it was the best post-cancer operation thing I did,” he said.
“The yoga classes at the Fern Centre have helped me immensely both physically and mentally to get back to surfing again.
“And I have met a whole array of folk who each had a different cancer experience, many of whom were still under treatment and observation.”
A safe space
The centre offers a safe space away from the bustle of the main hospital. Patients and their loved ones can visit without an appointment and will always be welcomed by a friendly volunteer and a cup of tea.
Tracy O-Mara from Bideford said she had found it hard to move forward following surgery and radiotherapy in 2023, but her recovery has been helped by counselling and reiki sessions at the centre.
She said: “I started going to the Fern Centre before my appointments at the hospital so I could relax with a cup of tea and a biscuit and chat with the lovely volunteers there, as well as people who had been through the same experience,” she said.
“There is a peace there which I’d been craving and it somehow it gives me an inner strength. Everyone there just ‘gets it’. It’s been hard to move forward and without the Fern Centre and all it offers, I know I would’ve just been ‘stuck’.”
As well as providing access to free counselling complementary therapy; financial and nutritional advice; hair-loss and bra-fitting support; and music, art and craft sessions, the centre also hosts a number of support groups that offer practical guidance for patients with a range of cancers.
Support groups
Tim Cresswell, from Ilfracombe, had life-changing surgery after being diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer but said he had been helped by meeting other men with similar experiences at the centre’s Men’s Support Group.
“No one should have to struggle through something as frightening as cancer feeling alone and the Fern Centre can offer that flicker of light in a sometimes dark and worrying world,” said Tim.
“Being able to meet other men who are living with or after cancer, and who have experienced many similar feelings, has been very uplifting. It really is good to talk, share and support one another.”
Emergency accommodation
The Fern centre also offers three en-suite emergency accommodation rooms for relatives and carers of patients staying in hospital overnight, not just those of cancer patients. There have been nearly 500 room bookings since the centre opened in 2020, giving families the chance to be near their loved ones.
Royal Devon Hospitals Charity community fundraiser Julie Whitton helped launch the fundraising appeal for the Fern Centre in 2017, exactly three years to the day the centre opened in 2020.
“The appeal received a huge amount of public support and came just two years after we completed a £2.2m appeal for the Seamoor Chemotherapy Unit, which opened at the hospital in 2015,” said Julie.
The generosity of people in North Devon is incredible.
– Julie, Royal Devon Hospitals Charity community fundraiser
“It’s fabulous to be able to look back at the last five years and celebrate the impact that the Fern Centre has had on the lives of so many people in the local area.
“Every pound raised has helped make a difference, and by continuing to help us fund the centre’s £200,000 a year running costs, the local community is helping to ensure that anyone in North Devon affected by cancer has access to wraparound wellbeing support should they need it.
“This kind of support goes beyond what the NHS is able to fund so we can’t thank people in North Devon enough for their continued support of the Fern Centre.”
5-year celebration event
A special garden party is being organised at the Fern Centre to celebrate the fifth anniversary on Monday, July 28. Cream teas and cakes will be available from 10am and there will also be entertainment by Michael Bublé tribute Mark Daniels – aka Ultimate Bublé – and clog dancing by the Ilfracombe Red Petticoats. Read more here.
