Coronavirus: NHS workers praised for continuing cancer care during pandemic

News comes as specialist hospital opens in Liverpool

NHS staff have been praised for providing vital tests and treatment to tens of thousands of cancer patients during the coronavirus pandemic, as a new specialist hospital opens in Liverpool.

Chief executive of the NHS Sir Simon Stevens said it was a testament to the key workers that 50,000 people were able to continue cancer treatment in March and April even as hospitals were hit with the first wave of the virus.

He spoke as the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool opened to provide treatments including pioneering immunotherapy and the most advanced forms of radiotherapy.

Sir Simon said: “This new hospital will provide world-class care to people with cancer across the region and it is timely as it will also help to support the NHS response to the pandemic by allowing vital tests and treatment to go ahead in a safe space.

“NHS staff have done everything in their power to make sure that the NHS can continue to care for patients who needed treatment and this has happened, which is testament to their incredible hard work and dedication.

“We know that people have been anxious about coming forward for checks during the pandemic but now is the time to get checked – it could save your life.”

The new facility is part of a £162m investment to transform cancer services in Merseyside and Cheshire, a region where people are more likely to develop the disease than almost anywhere else in the country.

The 110-bedroom site, next to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, will help the NHS resume normal operations by providing protected facilities for patients, many whom are particularly at risk from coronavirus, as well as releasing capacity in other hospitals in the region.

Dr Liz Bishop, chief executive of the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, which also has sites in Wirral and Aintree, said: “Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool is the culmination of an eight-year project for transforming cancer care in a region with one of the highest rates of cancer in the country.

“It brings state-of-the-art facilities, novel treatments and research together to improve outcomes and save lives in Cheshire and Merseyside at a time when one in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime.”

Cancer experts from the NHS and the University of Liverpool will work together at the site on cancer research, including early-phase clinical trials of new treatments.

Metro mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said: “This is especially good news in these current testing times when NHS resources have been so stretched dealing with coronavirus.

“It adds to our city region’s strengths in health and life sciences and is yet another world-leading asset for the growing Knowledge Quarter.”

Staff at the hospital were surprised with a video message of appreciation from the Prince of Wales on Saturday before the site welcomed its first inpatients.

Health minister Jo Churchill said: “The opening of the new specialist cancer hospital will provide potentially life-saving treatments for thousands of patients while offering an important research space as we further develop our understanding of this deadly disease.”

PA