3M donates £4,000 to LOROS in support of innovative chronic oedema research.
LOROS Hospice announced today that 3M’s Loughborough based Health Care business has donated £4,000 to the hospice in recognition of its support for research into tackling chronic oedema. The care pathway project, being run in partnership by LOROS, LPT, 3M and the University of Nottingham, could result in significant improvements in the treatment of patients who have swollen legs with fluid retention, often caused by cancer but also heart disease and circulatory and lymph system problems.
"The care pathway approach that we are developing could make a real difference to hundreds of patients, many of whom currently get inadequate treatment. It will make better use of resources and get the right treatments to the right patients”, said Professor Christina Faull of LOROS. “We are grateful for the support from 3M, for the generous financial donation to support us in taking part in this important partnership work."
Lymphoedema affects approximately 200,000 people in the UK and approximately 3,000 people in Leicestershire. About 1 in 5 women develop lymphoedema after breast cancer treatment. Without the valuable service provided by LOROS at its lymphoedema clinics, almost all of Leicestershire's patients would have to travel to a different county to get treatment. Lymphoedema, and many other conditions, fall under the umbrella term ‘Chronic Oedema’. There is limited research detailing the number of people affected by “Chronic Oedema”, and the introduction of the care pathway will investigate the numbers in the region.
"3M is committed to improving patients’ lives through innovation in care and technology", said Martin Arrowsmith from 3M’s Critical and Chronic Care Solutions division. "We recognise the invaluable, specialist service that LOROS provides to Leicestershire's lymphoedema patients and we are proud to be able to help support this service."
Whilst not life limiting, lymphoedema can be severely debilitating resulting in limited movement and often severe cosmetic issues such as cracked and inflamed skin. Collaborative work in developing a community based care pathway will help to provide care to a broader spectrum of chronic oedema patients, alleviating some of their current challenges including; “identification at general practice level… (not enough) specialist nurses….and also the communication factor…(professionals) not being able to talk to each other because of different trusts, or whatever it may be”, explains Mark Smith, LOROS Patient and project stakeholder.
"We are incredibly grateful to 3M for this donation", said Paul Keirnan, Director of Income Generation and Communications at LOROS, "All of our services, including the lymphoedema clinics are provided free of charge to all patients, so this will be a great boost to the services we can provide".
"There is no cure for lymphoedema, but it is usually possible to control the main symptoms using techniques to minimise fluid build-up and stimulate the flow of fluid through the lymphatic system", said Professor Christine Moffat from Nottingham University, "These new developments may help to further control the symptoms and reduce the suffering for cancer patients."
