We provide wide-ranging support including high-tech medical equipment and research projects, free complementary therapy for patients and specialist education for nurses across six inpatient wards, day-care, ambulatory care and young adult and outpatient services.
Over the past thirty years, we’ve funded a variety of different projects – from our patient snack trolley, to advanced medical equipment which has revolutionised haematology care. Take a look at some of the highlights here.
Supporting patients
Complementary Therapy
Complementary therapies, including massage and reflexology, can reduce stress and anxiety levels, helping patients to cope with illness, symptoms and treatment. HCC funds complementary therapy which delivers a breadth of benefits for patients throughout the UCLH haematology unit.
“Complementary therapies are a very important part of life on the ward. It makes the experience of being a patient more bearable.”
‘Simply Yummy’ Snack Trolley
‘Our ‘Simply Yummy’ Snack Trolley has been serving snacks and drinks to our haematology inpatients since 2017! Patients who are on the wards undergoing treatments for long periods, can lose their appetites and the refreshments have been developed to give patients the much-needed calories in an easy to digest and yummy way! They also enjoy the chat from our amazing Snack Trolley volunteers! HCC funds this service: thank you to the Shipperlee family and the Andy Sarsby Foundation whose donations make this possible!
Cyanotype Printing
A new artist-led project for Teenage and Young Adult Haematology inpatients involving found materials and photographic processes, with Daniela Sbrisny. Daniela is a Documentary Photographer with experience in healthcare settings including here at UCLH as HCC’s Photographer in Residence. The project is assisted by youth support workers Rebecca Muscat, (pictured left with Daniela) and Andre Thomas, and Lead TYA Nurse Jess O’Brien. Thanks to the Andy Sarsby Foundation for their support. Also supported by the Arts Council.
Pizza Evenings
A seemingly simple project for our young adult haematology patients, our pizza evenings make a huge difference to their experience, as well as adding much-needed calories, it gives patients the opportunity to socialise with their peers.
Photography Workshops
Facilitated by one of our haematology psychologists, workshops provided a relaxed space for younger users of the Red Cell Service to meet, develop their photography skills and share their experiences of living with illness. Members learnt to use photography as a tool to share their stories about health. The interactive process of telling and giving feedback on stories empowered people in managing their health. Participant’s work was featured in the photography exhibition “Express your life through photography”.
Treatment Schools
The Lymphoma Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) run Autologous Stem Cell Transplant Pre-treatment Education Sessions to help patients understand what to expect when having a stem cell transplant, and End of Treatment Education Sessions for patients who have recently completed treatment, helping to empower them to move forward. HCC supports these sessions.
Exercise for patients
HCC supports exercise for patients, whether through sessions like ‘Keep Moving’ and ‘Move4You’, or our new exercise bikes on the wards, generously funded by the Andy Sarbsy Foundation.
Red Cell Service Support
We support the UCLH Red Cell service through patient groups and workshops, awareness days, and have previously funded a dedicated Red Cell Support worker.
MASCOT Registry
In collaboration with Dendrite Clinical Systems, the Royal Free Charity, HaemSTAR and MPN Voice we launched the Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Splanchnic Vein Thrombosis Registry, collecting, recording and analysing treatment and outcomes. We hope that this will increase understanding of this rare condition, and improve treatment outcomes for patients.
Portrait Artist Project
Our Portrait Artist in Residence project ran between August 2013 and December 2023, during which time artist Simon Tolhurst offered patients and their loved ones the opportunity to pose for a pencil portrait, based in the UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre. Simon drew over 300 patients throughout the project, thank you Simon!
Sleep Caps
We launched sleep caps for the UCLH Wig and Scarf tying service, helping patients to feel comfortable, with cosy caps to protect their hair as they sleep.
Staff roles, training and welfare
Professional development for nurses
Knowledge gained by haematology nurses through higher education helps them continue to develop professionally, and leads to the introduction of new techniques and initiatives within the unit. HCC provides long-standing funding for university courses that would otherwise be unavailable to our staff, and has made a huge impact on the recruitment, retention and development of nurses within haematology over the last 30 years.
Conferences
We are delighted to support conferences which encourage professional development and knowledge sharing for haematology staff, such as the UCLH Cancer Conferences in 2022 and 2026, and the Cancer Clinical Trials Unit Conference (2023), celebrating 25 of the service.
Tony Goldstone Mentoring Award
Having been awarded the esteemed American Society of Haematology (ASH) Mentoring award, Professor Tony Goldstone chose to donate his prize to initiate a local mentoring award in the Haematology Department at UCLH. Thank you Tony for helping us to acknowledge and promote mentoring within haematology!
UCLH Cancer Academy
In 2025 we helped to fund the UCLH Cancer Academy, established to empower clinical teams to transform ideas into impactful, accessible education for internal and external healthcare professionals. They support professional development to ensure the delivery of high-quality patient care.
Nurses’ Wellbeing
From yoga classes to team bonding activities, nurses’ wellbeing remains a priority for HCC. Thank you to our fantastic nurses who also raise money for Haematology Cancer Care through a range of fun events.
Senior Mental Health Practitioner – Marlies
We’re proud to fund Marlies role providing psychological support for Teenagers and Young Adults.
“When someone goes through treatment there are many ups and downs, and what we aim to do is meet them at the point of diagnosis, when they come here for the first time and let them know we can talk about anything they want to. When I meet young people for the first time, they are often in shock from their diagnosis, so we talk about processing this and together find ways to cope with treatment – which is always individual and subjective.”
Red Cell Support Worker – Selina
Selina is pivotal in the delivery of more holistic care for our patients with thalassaemia and sickle cell. She supports treatment management, overseeing and aligning appointments, arranging special tests and sign-posting to other services. HCC seed funded this role, which has now been taken over by the trust.
Bed Manager – Marinella
HCC seed funded a dedicated bed manager for haematology, to co-ordinate admissions and discharge and supporting patients in outlying wards, helping to make sure those who needs beds have them. Prior to this the role was shared by haematology senior nursing staff. This remains a crucial role, which is now funded by the trust.
Clinical Practice Facilitator – Olla
Our Clinical Practice Facilitators ensure our haematology nurses are supported and trained to progress and deliver the best possible patient care. Through HCC funding, the CPF team expanded coinciding with the move to the GWB and our expanded workforce. Many thanks to the GT Fan Club for making this possible!
Youth Support Coordinator – Manju
The Youth Support Coordinator (YSC) is pivotal in ensuring that care for our young adults is patient-focused throughout their stay in hospital. HCC funding allowed continuous provision of this service, which provides psychological support, promoting self-care and wellbeing for patients.
Equipment
Apheresis Service
Over the past thirty years, HCC has made a significant contribution to the apheresis service. By funding apheresis, ultrasound and Veinplicity machines, we have immensely improved treatment capacity and life experience for patients, particularly those requiring regular transfusions for sickle cell disease, stem cells donations and live saving treatments for TTP and myeloma.
PICC
Thanks to our funding of ultrasound machines for the PICC team, patients now experience a less painful and more streamlined, cohesive service when having lines inserted.
Grafton Way Terrace
The benches for the terrace allows patients, families and staff a place to get some fresh air outside of the ward.
Improving patient experience in Haematology CCU
Every room in the intensive care unit now has a smart speaker so that patients can play music, radio or podcasts to reduce boredom and stress. Two sleeper chairs which pull out into beds mean that family members can stay at the patient’s bedside overnight in some circumstances, improving their sleep so they are in a better position to help support and care for their loved one.
iPads
iPads for documenting nursing assessments electronically make patient assessments easily accessible and readable, and allows teams to audit patient toxicities to treatments given: allowing us to better understand the side effects patients experience and focus on further improving the supportive care patients receive. Electronic documentation streamlines processes and improves communication channels, facilitating better decision-making and improved care. The iPads were donated by the family of Leslie Ableson.
Virtual Reality Headsets
Our newly funded VR headsets are already making a huge difference to patients, offering distraction, reducing stress during procedures, and for therapeutic use. Thank you again to the Andy Sarsby Foundation for supporting this project.
Improving life on the wards
Our toastie and coffee machines are a simple way of bringing people together – and feeding them – and are very popular with staff!
Grafton Way Artwork
The ‘Held & Sensed’ art installation, by artist Dryden Goodwin, features patients, loved ones and clinical staff in intricate watercolour. Commissioned by HCC, this impressive piece creates a welcoming, friendly and uplifting environment for those visiting the GWB.
Supporting Teenagers and Young Adults
HCC have contributed to the TYA service, like funding the Young Adult Patient Room in the tower, the Youth Support Worker, music therapy, and improvements to the environment to make the space more relaxing for patients and their families. Thank you to all the young adults and their families whose fundraising made the ‘Chill Out’ Room possible.
Research
CAR T-Cell Immunotherapy
“CAR T-Cell Immunotherapy represents the ultimate in bespoke, personalised medicine and has immense potential. We hope that the Elias Taylor leukaemia scholarship will inform the design and development of next generation CAR T-Cells for leukaemia, so the benefits are realised by future patients. Our thanks to the Vegas After Party and HCC for their generosity in making this possible.”
Dr Claire Roddie, Honorary Consultant UCLH, Associate Professor, UCL Cancer Institute
PhD Students – Marina Mitsikakou and Efty Charalambous
Working with Dr Claire Roddie, Marina and Efty’s research investigates means of making cutting edge CAR T-Cell therapy available to more haematology patients, more quickly. Our thanks to fundraisers ‘Vegas After Party’ for their life-changing funding.
“My family and I have supported education for nurses for over 20 years, in memory of our daughter, Lynne. She valued education and saw the difference it made to the treatment and care of patients, and to the nurses themselves. Regular feedback from nurses where we have contributed towards their education has made us feel that this is a wonderful legacy.“
Margaret Horsman, Haematology Cancer Care Supporter
“Increasingly, haematology nursing practice is complex, and new developments require ever-increasing knowledge and understanding of complicated procedures and treatments. Continuing practice development is at the heart of patient safety. It is within this challenging environment that the kind donations from HCC continue to provide the opportunity for the very best education, and continuing practice development, we can offer our staff. HCC is an integral part of our team. Thank you to all of our HCC team!“
Simon Clare, Haematology Practice Development Lead, UCLH