Support Groups
THE VOICE TALKS TO:
Vivien Reed,
The National Association of Laryngectomee Clubs
We’ve got plenty of
reasons to be grateful
for National Association
of Laryngectomee
Clubs (NALC). For the
past 35 years NALC has
been working tirelessly
to support the cause
of laryngectomees
throughout the UK,
both individually and
en masse.
Funded by Macmillan,
NALC was set up in 1976
with a remit to promote
greater understanding
of laryngectomee issues,
and to assist patients with
their rehabilitation. Back
then, the outlook for
laryngectomees was quite
different. While we’ve
still got some way to go
before there’s widespread
understanding and
improved provision for
neck breathers, things used
to be much more difficult.
So NALC set out to do
something about that.
One of their first great
contributions was to bring
some of the fledgling
laryngectomy groups –
from Birmingham, Bristol
18 THE VOICE | Autumn 2011
and Nottingham – together under the
same wing. Group members got together
at Charing Cross Hospital initially, and a
national network was born.
Vivien Reed takes up the story,
“A laryngectomy was still seen as a very
rare procedure back then; it still is to some
extent. But generally, medical practitioners
are more aware of the condition now –
and it tends to be diagnosed much earlier.
Admittedly there are still some grey areas,
but I believe the NHS service provision is
second to none. Back then though, lots of
people were still going into hospital and
having masks put over their nose and
mouth – so NALC had to step in and help
raise awareness in areas like this.”
That might surprise a few people. For those
that don’t know, NALC is much more than
an association of laryngectomy clubs. True,
that’s a big part of their remit, but so is
lobbying and awareness raising and onthe-ground support for neck br eathers. So
what exactly does NALC do?
More than you might think
Most patients will find out about NALC for
the first time while they’re still in hospital.
“Every patient should get a NALC pack via
their hospital – hundreds of sets go out
monthly. We provide a wealth of literature
to hospitals, families and patients and lots
of useful extras, like orange car stickers
and large credit card style information
cards describing dos and don’ts for
laryngectomees in an emergency.”