A charity providing holistic therapies and counselling for people with cancer has launched an urgent appeal to help its services continue and expand.

Wirral Holistic Care Centre uses holistic needs assessment tools that lead to many therapy choices including counselling, acupuncture, massage, reflexology, nutritional therapy, hypnotherapy, aromatherapy, art therapy and tai chi.

The facility in Claughton provides comprehensive support in both a psychological and emotional capacity and learn to understand the "person behind the illness". It also offers free access to facilities and group sessions such as regular coffee mornings and support groups.

A nurse-led charity, it supports around 1600 people a year, aged 18 and over.

There are five nurses and three administration staff. There two shop managers at its charity shop in Moreton and both are supported with more 60 volunteers.

Wirral Globe:

Patsy Hummerston, centre manager (pictured centre) with colleagues

A fundraising and awareness campaign has been launched to help towards running costs, which are more than £150,000 a year.

Literature from the charity reads: "We believe we are unique in being the only body that provides a one-to-one counselling service with dual-trained nurse counsellors.

"An important aspect of our holistic approach is that our patients are encouraged to choose for themselves which therapy is right for them."

The centre was established in 1988 when a local nurse did a three-year research study that saw the need for a nurse-led charity whose overall aim was to improve the quality of life for those facing a life-threatening illness.

It was believed patients living with cancer and undergoing orthodox treatments would derive immense benefit from support services which they felt would most effectively meet their physical and psychological needs and enhance their quality of life.

To this end a therapeutic cancer care centre was started which aimed to provide, through a dedicated team of registered nurses, voluntary nurses and therapists, free ongoing care and support to anyone with a diagnosis of cancer.

The centre operated out of St Catherine’s Hospital for our first 17 years before moving to its current address in Claughton.

There are seven therapy rooms in the building. Among them is the Caron Keating room, named after the presenter of BBC's Blue Peter, who died in 2004 after a seven-year battle with breast cancer. Caron's mother, the TV presenter Gloria Hunniford makes a regular donation to the centre.

Patsy Hummerston, centre manager, told the Globe during a visit to the charity's premises: "The charity has been here for almost 35 years and offers an amazing service; the fact that we have provided free cancer support for cancer patients and elsewhere.

"Our catchment area is primarily Wirral although we do get patients from the wider Merseyside region and beyond but we operate on the principal that nobody is ever turned away.

"We're here for you and we're a safe place at a difficult time. If anyone wants to come and talk to us about their cancer diagnosis come. We are a drop-in facility, so people can come in and have a cup of tea.

"Our volunteer therapists have been here for several years and I would like to have a fund set up to pay for expenses.

"We have therapists who travel by two buses. I would like to the charity to be able to help with such things as travel costs.

"It's also harder to find core funding at the moment and, for example with energy bills going up the way they are, we'd like to like to look to the future and sustainability.

"For example, we'd like to explore solar panels to reduce our electricity costs and potentially heat pumps to reduce our gas usage."

To support the centre by making a donation, go to: https://www.wirralholistic.org.uk/