Healing in the NHS

A CANCER patient at the Trust has been singing the praises of her treatment for Myeloma Awareness Week, which ran from 21 to 28 June, but not just treatment from medical staff.

Rita Rumsey was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer myeloma in December 2002. It had also invaded her pelvis, venebra and ovaries earlier that year. Rita was treated with the latest anti-myeloma chemotherapy, which included high-dose treatment and a stem cell transplant in special unit for blood diseases ar LGI. She achieved a complete remission but throughout her treatment, she has benefited from complementary medicine at the Trust. Rita discovered the work of the Trust's natural healer, Ruth Kaye, a month after her original diagnosis in the Autumn of 2002.

Rita said: "Myeloma is a cancer that causes the plasma ceIls in your blood to multiply. It basically attacks and destroys your bones.

"After my diagnosis I sat in on a session where Ruth came to do a demonstration of her work in natural healing. After a brief one-on-one I was convinced her work could help me.

"The whole experience is so uplifting. Ruth relaxed me and helped me achieve a state of deep meditation by playing soothing music and just speaking. I found I wasn't feeling as depressed or in despair any more and I had the confidence to keep going in life. I now attend Ruth's group twice a week."

Ruth Kaye is one of the few natural healers working in the NHS and one of the first to be employed by the health service. She is based ar Cookridge Hospital where she has been helping patients, families and staff relieve their stress, anxieties and apprehensions for the last 14 years. Ruth said: "Spirituality can play an important part of healthcare, affecting people's physical, psychological and social needs. The work I do is non-denominational and it is not necessary to experience spirituality.

At Cookridge Hospiral Ruth has her own small therapy room and waiting area filled with relevant literature. She receives referrals directly from doctors and nurses, via word of mouth and direct self-referrals from patients. Her groups see on average around ten to twenty people per session and Ruth can see around 70 people a week in total. She added "I simply promote a state of deep relaxation and meditation through a breathing focus with the help of music.

"A deep sense of awareness and tranquillity can restore confidence and positivity and help reduce anxieties, fears and uncertainties. This often helps patients who are having trouble sleeping."By teaching a deep, still meditation and offering thirty years of experience of spiritual often described by patients as simply 'well-being'. I make no promises of curing people - natural healing should be promoted alongside orthodox medicine.

UPDATE: Ruth is now in St James`s University Hospital in the new Oncology Bexley Wing where she has her my own therapy room based on Nightingale Out patient Oncology Day Ward. She works without appointements at present, helping patients, carers, the bereaved, families and staff members in either one to one sessions or in meditation groups. To find out more contact Ruth on 0113 292 4283 or visit http://www.ruthkayehealer.co.uk.