Nairn Healthcare Group is delighted to announce an integrated service with Highland Hospice Complementary Therapy Service, to develop Tai Chi and Health and Wellbeing Groups in Nairn.
These are commencing in January 2020 and will be held on Monday afternoons, within Nairn Town and County Hospital.
Our Tai Chi and Health and Wellbeing Groups will be offered on a drop in basis. They are available to anyone affected by a life-limiting or long-term health condition, including families and carers, with the aim to support the changing patterns of chronic and life-shortening illnesses.
Susan Fraser, Complementary Therapist explains, “I was inspired by a podcast from Professor Scott Murray of Edinburgh University who spoke about how holistic care helps empower patients and families to manage living with illness. It changes a patient’s perspective so they do not feel they have moved into care designed for those who are dying.”
Tai Chi is a low-impact, slow-moving exercise which can be easily adapted to anyone, and those who have attended our sessions within the Highland Hospice Netley Day Therapy Centre feel that they have improved movement, balance, better management of breathlessness and improved sleep pattern.”
“Our Health and Wellbeing Programme, which is complementary therapy and mindfulness based, is designed to help manage living with illness; including topics such as fatigue, sleep, anxiety, nutrition, pain and medication.”
Susan added, “We are delighted at the opportunity to offer these services in Nairn and have had several people getting in touch already. The special thing about this is that it all came about at the request of one of our patients and his wife.”
Vivienne Brown, whose husband David attended the Netley Day Therapy Centre in Inverness before he passed away in April 2019, explains, “Both David and I got so much from our Tai Chi classes and massage sessions and I just felt it was such a shame there was nothing like this on offer in Nairn. I spoke to both Susan and my GP to ask whether there might be a chance of hosting these in Nairn. Sadly David never got to see this happen, but I am delighted that local individuals and those close to them will be able to access this in the future.”
Susan Fraser added, “Thank you so much to the GP’s, their practice manager Tanya Barron, Ros Philip and her PA Linsey Mackenzie for being so open to this idea and for the input into getting the service up and running. We have already had a fair bit of interest which is great.”
To register interest in attending either of these groups, please contact Diane Grant clinsec@highlandhospice.org.uk or by calling 01463 227919. (If January is full, we will look to offer places later.)
