A number of spas in the UK are backing a new accreditation body to make holistic treatments and therapies more accessible for people with cancer: The Standard Authority in Touch for Cancer Care (SATCC).
The recently launched SATCC covers the UK and Ireland, and will provide an accredited platform of training courses for spa staff so they can therefore provide those affected by cancer access to qualified treatments and centers. In short, cancer patients will no longer have to worry about being turned away or experience poor reactions from inexperienced therapists.
The SATCC was started by Susan Harmsworth, MBE, who founded the ESPA in 1993 and has more than 50 years' experience in the wellness industry. Along with some of the best training providers in the country, Harmsworth wants to raise awareness for therapists and spa seekers who may not know of their options.
"The priority is for the consumer to find a therapist or spa so they can physically feel better. Because it’s a horrible time when you’re diagnosed with cancer. When you have a therapist who knows what they're doing it’s fantastic for anxiety, great for sleep, and very soothing,” said Harmsworth. "At the moment we're just covering facials, massage, manicures and pedicures with hopes to do wraps, scrubs and more in the future. Heat is an issue, lymphedema for example is complicated, so they have to be quite careful, but spas will know about this now.”
More than 220 hotels across the UK and Ireland have already signed up—and the list is growing daily.
