Public meeting in Luton over potential move for specialist cancer centre Mount Vernon
Two public meetings are to be held in Bedfordshire this month, as part of a process to improve access to cancer care and to transform the service offer for local patients,
These face-to-face events will cover proposals to relocate Mount Vernon Cancer Centre to a new purpose-built facility in Watford, and an option for a second radiotherapy unit at eitherLuton and Dunstable Hospital or the Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
Local residents can ask questions and also share their views face-to-face, according to the BLMK integrated care board (ICB).
The first will be held at the Rufus Centre, Steppingley Road, Flitwick, tomorrow, (February 10) with the other at the University of Bedfordshire’s Park Square campus in Luton on Saturday, February 21, both from 10.30am to noon.
Plans to bring together Mount Vernon with the new Watford General Hospital would create a modern centre of excellence for cancer care, if approved after consultation, said the ICB.
“A key part of the consultation is the option for a further specialist unit in Luton or Hertfordshire, improving access for people living in the north of the Mount Vernon catchment area.”
A report to Luton Borough Council’s scrutiny health and social care review group recommends councillors accept the relocation plans to Watford, while backing Luton as the preferred location of the networked radiotherapy unit.
“The reasons for the move include the ability to provide the most up-to-date advances in cancer treatment and care, which requires wider acute specialist medical support to keep patients safe and in receipt of optimal care,” explained the report.
“Remaining at the Mount Vernon site in Northwood isn’t an option and its relocation is considered a national priority. No final decision has been taken on these plans.
“Cancer care should be accessible to everyone. But access to treatment and the outcomes for patients in the area covered by Mount Vernon varies considerably, which needs to change.
“The consultation relates to specialised, non-surgical cancer services provided for adults in Bedfordshire, parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, North London and East Berkshire.
“It’s considered ‘a genuine opportunity for people to influence the final shape of the proposal and to reduce any negative impacts’. All responses will be carefully reviewed, and a report summarising the reasons for the final decision will be published.
“Cancer affects most of us at some point in our lives and one in two people will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime,” added the report. “Cancer incidence increases with age, and the number of older people as a proportion of the population will rise,
“Improved prognosis is due to new drugs and treatments, including immunotherapies and gene therapies, and these treatments need the support of other hospital specialities, such as cardiology, critical care and medical and surgical services.
“The lack of appropriate clinical support services and the quality of buildings has been a growing concern for Mount Vernon to remain a specialist location. It can’t offer the most technologically advanced treatments.
“Patients with blood cancer from Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire are required to travel to UCL Hospital in London.”
An online consultation is available at mvccreview.nhs.uk until Sunday, March 29.