Merseyside has received its first glimpse of the new Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool city centre as it’s revealed that the state-of-the-art facility will open its doors to patients in May next year.
At an event held on level six of the landmark building, invitees were shown the chemotherapy suite which includes stunning views over the city for outpatients receiving treatment.
The new specialist cancer hospital is part of an £162 million development which includes planned improvements to the trusts Wirral site.
It will expand the care given to people with cancer across the region, improving access and treatment for up to 70% of patients who come from north of the River Mersey.
Patient Sophie Mulligan addressed invited guests, speaking of the importance of Liverpool’s first dedicated cancer centre, providing cutting edge research as well as outstanding care and treatment.
Sophie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the summer 2015 after struggling to get over what she thought was a bad cold. She said: “This new hospital is so important for the people of Merseyside and Cheshire. I wouldn’t want to be treated in any place other than Clatterbridge and we are so lucky to have this brand-new facility on our doorstep. It isn’t a nice thing to go through but to have the best facilities will be a big help to patients like me.”
The project is being funded by the NHS and government sources, with £15 million planned to come from The New Cancer Hospital Appeal which has just £5million left to raise; this means that there is no PFI funding on the project.
Liz Bishop, Chief Executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre said: “We are delighted to be able to show off our fantastic new facility to the people of Merseyside and to confirm that we will be opening in May 2020. This will be Liverpool’s first cancer hospital and will be a huge boost to cancer care in the area, with modern facilities and improved accessibility for a huge number of patients.
“A lot of people have worked incredibly hard to bring the building to life and once open it will help us deliver even more vital treatment, more lifesaving clinical trials and more innovations.”
Laing O’Rourke, Project Director, Roger Frost said: “Laing O’Rourke are immensely proud to build Liverpool’s first Specialist Cancer Hospital.
“It’s a privilege leading a team of fully committed individuals who give us 100% commitment on a daily basis to build this excellent, and much needed, state of the art facility for the City of Liverpool.
“Occasions such as this allow us to reflect briefly, on the enormous benefits a facility like this will bring to over 2million people in the region.”
The new Clatterbridge Cancer Centre will provide specialist chemotherapy and other drug therapies, including immunotherapy, radiotherapy, inpatient and outpatient care, cancer support and rehabilitation, bone marrow transplant and urgent cancer care. There will also be a dedicated teenage and young adult unit.
It will care for a population of 2.4 million people from across Merseyside, Cheshire and beyond, with solid tumours and blood cancers, and will also carry out clinical trials of new cancer treatments.
The new hospital will be in addition to The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s existing hospitals in Wirral and Aintree, and its chemotherapy and outpatient services in other hospitals across the region including Southport, Chester, Halton, St Helen’s and Liverpool.
Background:
Transforming Cancer Care is a £162m investment in improving cancer care to:
- Expand the services provided by The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre to meet the increasing demand for specialist cancer care as the population ages, and diagnosis and treatments improve.
- Develop a new Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in the heart of Liverpool, alongside Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the University of Liverpool. This would become The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s main site.
- Continue to provide outpatient treatment for most cancers at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral and its second radiotherapy unit at Aintree. Chemotherapy clinics and outpatient clinics at local hospitals across Merseyside and Cheshire would also continue. The Wirral site would also be redeveloped.
- Delivery of the construction of the new Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is being led by Laing O’Rourke working in collaboration with partners including architects BDP, structural and building services design engineers AECOM.
As well as caring for more than 2.4million people in Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, the Isle of Man and parts of Lancashire, our reputation and specialist services attract national and international cancer patients.
For more information, visit www.clatterbridgecc.nhs.uk or follow @CCCNHS on Twitter.
The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity is raising the final £5m to support the building of a brand-new dedicated cancer hospital in the heart of Liverpool – the city’s first. This is huge news for our region which will mean we can offer even better safer care for our sickest patients and take a giant leap forward in terms of cancer research and clinical trials in Merseyside and Cheshire.
