Cancer care to be transformed by new facility
A NEW state of the art cancer centre is to be built in the grounds of Macclesfield District General Hospital which is used by many patients from the Staffordshire Moorlands, writes LES JACKSON.
Planners at Cheshire East Council have now given permission for the construction of the centre and work is planned to start in early 2020.
The Christie at Macclesfield will transform cancer care in the area, providing care closer to home for more than 1,500 patients a year. Patients from Cheshire, North Staffordshire and the High Peak area of Derbyshire will all benefit.
The ambitious new centre will bring together essential cancer services into one purpose-built unit delivering local specialist access to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, holistic support and information services, outpatient care, palliative care and a wider range of clinical trials than at present.
Many patients from the area and beyond currently travel to The Christie in South Manchester. This can mean hours spent travelling each day at a time when patients and their families are already very distressed. For radiotherapy, in particular, patients may have to attend for treatment on a daily basis for up to six weeks.
When The Christie at Macclesfield opens it will accommodate 40,000 patient visits per year including 15,000 radiotherapy treatments and 4,000 chemotherapy treatments.
There will be specialist examination rooms, a CT simulator where treatments are planned, plus counselling and complementary therapy rooms. The new centre will be designed to meet the needs of the local ageing population.
Dr Andrew Sykes, clinical lead for the new centre, said: “This is a big step forward for the project and is very welcome news for anyone from the area who may be touched by cancer in the future.
“We have already heard from hundreds of people who have experienced cancer how much difference the new centre will make. While patients and families are prepared to travel to The Christie in Withington for specialist services, we know that most would prefer to have those services locally where possible. The Christie at Macclesfield will provide the highest standard of cancer care for patients.”
The Christie at Macclesfield needs the support and generosity of the local community with a charity aiming to raise £23m towards the £26m cost of the new centre. The remaining funding is coming from the NHS.
Head of fundraising at The Christie charity, Lou Stimson, said: “We are thrilled with how much support we have already had from the local community, with more than £2m now pledged. There are hundreds of exciting ways to help fundraise. For inspiration and further details about how you can support The Christie at Macclesfield go to www. christies.org/macclesfield or call our team on 0161 446 3988.”
The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to our patients and their families. The charity has more than 53,000 supporters who helped raise £13.9m last year.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It referred to The Christie as ‘a leader in cancer care’ and ‘a pioneer in developing innovative solutions to cancer care.’ The CQC praised the Trust’s staff which it said ‘go the extra mile to meet the needs of patients and their families’ and that they were ‘exceptionally kind and caring.’ In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country, and one of the top three trusts overall in England.