MORE details about what will be in the county’s new state-of-the-art oncology centre have been unveiled.
The £23million centre next to Worcestershire Royal Hospital will offer radiotherapy services in the county for the first time when it opens in January.
Bosses at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust have now confirmed a chemotherapy suite, clinic areas and an emergency assessment bay – all currently in the main hospital – will move into the first floor of the building by early spring 2016.
It is expected the move will increase the number of patients who are able to receive their chemotherapy treatment within the county from 75 per cent to 95 per cent, and enable 85 per cent of people requiring concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy to receive it on their doorstep.
Adel Makar, lead cancer clinician at the Trust, said: “This is fantastic news as it will bring cancer services together into one state of the art facility.
“This will bring the cancer teams together and will undoubtedly improve patient pathways and patient experience. It will also create additional capacity to cater for the growing demand for these services.”
Paul Crawford, a former cancer patient and a patient representative on the Board, said: “This is further good news for Worcestershire cancer patients.
“In a matter of weeks we will be offering radiotherapy services in county for the first time ever, saving patients an estimated one million miles of travel a year, and this further development will also increase the amount of chemotherapy treatment that is able to be offered within the county.”
