02 May Southend Hospital opens £680k cancer suite thanks to patients
02/05/2016
THANKS to patient power, Southend Hospital has opened a new £680,000 state-of-the-art brachytherapy suite that will make it one of the leading cancer treatment centres in the country.
Brachytherapy is the treatment of cancer using radioactive sources and this new suite brings together all the different types of treatment and all the different ways of treating it in one place.
This will increase the number of patients who can use it, but more importantly the accuracy of the equipment and with such a dedicated theatre it now means that Essex has an elite facility.
James Green, consultant clinical scientist and head of radiotherapy, said: “We can now treat four or five different types of cancer in as many different ways in our new theatre. This new building allows us to bring all that together for the very first time which is a massive advantage for patients and staff.”
The suite offers two types of treatment for prostate cancer, gynaecology and skin cancer and will be offering it for rectal cancer soon. It also has the facility to treat oesophagus and breast cancer.
Five years in the planning, the new £540,000 suite has been paid for by both the hospital and the generosity of local people, the latter donating an amazing £260,000 in legacy donations to its build with a further £140,000 in fundraising paying for all of the state-of-the-art equipment. The total cost of the project was £680,000.
Mr Green said: “I cannot thank each and every person who has donated to the cause enough, without their hard work this would just not have been possible. These advances and changes will revolutionise brachytherapy care at Southend Hospital for hundreds of people every year across Essex.
“Our brachytherapy treatment is no longer spread across the trust, as it was previously. We no longer have to go up to theatres it is all done in this one area, self-contained and all under one roof.”
The centre will be able to see 250 to 300 patients per year, with a CT scanner situated opposite the unit providing quicker treatment.
Mr Green said: “Modern and inviting are probably the words I would use for the new brachytherapy area. The old one was often referred to as “the shed”.
“It did us proud but this is in a totally different league and will be of a huge benefit to patients in terms of receiving their treatment in a much better environment.”
One family alone donated £51,800 towards the suite in memory of their late mother and father.
The Foster family’s generous donation funded an upgrade to the HDR machine that delivers brachytherapy.
Previously there were only 18 needles to deliver treatment but now it has been boosted to 30 needles which means both speedier and more effective delivery of treatment.
Alan Foster, from Canvey, said: “My mother had great service from the NHS for various health issues before she died and my father died of cancer.
“My brothers and I decided to donate our parent’s life savings to the hospital where my mother was cared for. When we heard about the brachytherapy appeal we knew this was an area we wanted our donation to benefit.”
Southend Hospital carries out high dose rate brachytherapy, a type of internal radiation therapy that delivers radiation from implants placed close to, or inside, the tumours in the body
Mr Green added: “It is very rare to have a suite like this and you can be sure that we will be making the most of this facility to cut down on waiting times for cancer treatment.”
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