Cancer centre opens its doors

WELCOME . . . Kirstie Rowley, linear accelerator support worker, at the main reception area

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Christie ready for launch

OLDHAM’S state-of-the-art £17million Christie radiotherapy centre will treat its first patient next Tuesday.

And the Oldham Chronicle, whose readers raised more than £100,000 to help make it happen, were invited to take an exclusive sneak preview yesterday.

The centre is the first in a network of Christie radiotherapy facilities aimed at taking cancer care closer to people’s homes.

It takes pride of place on the frontage of the Royal Oldham Hospital, with its distinctive curved outline and dedicated entrance. Its completion marks the end of 18 months of building work.

Once inside, friendly staff, of which there are 46, are eager to put patients at ease and make their journey through treatment as easy as possible.

Decorated in warm colours throughout, the first impression comes from the reception area which includes a cafe and an information room, run with Macmillan, and manned by a specialist Christie nurse. Waiting areas for the various steps of treatment have bright, modern seating, and a central courtyard garden, a replica of which was showcased at last year’s Tatton Park RHS flower show, has outside seats for patients to use.

Two treatment rooms house high-tech £1.3 million linear accelerators, which are used to deliver radiotherapy.

They are linked to a control area where radiographers keep a strict eye on the treatment process, which takes around 15 to 20 minutes. A total of 70 patients will be treated at the centre each weekday. Its Oldham base will save local patients a total of 12,000 travelling hours, or 324,000 miles each year.

The move brings world-class radiotherapy treatment to Oldham.

The centre throws open its doors to the public, who helped to make it possible, on Saturday.

The open day runs from 11am-3pm for anyone who wants to take a tour of the centre before it opens next week.

The move will see an end for many to the gruelling minimum three-hour round trip to south Manchester for treatment.

Patients are treated five days a week for up to six weeks.

The prospect of a daily trip to Withington over such a long period can be daunting for patients already struggling with their health.

From next week, Oldhamers who need radiotherapy for breast or prostate cancer will be treated.

And once the service is up and running, it will be extended for patients with other common cancers such as bowel and lung cancer.

Having treatment on the doorstep from Christie staff with the most up-to-date technology on the market will be a massive boon for Oldhamers.

The radiotherapy centre covers the ground floor of the three-storey building.

The top two levels are still under construction, and will not be used by the Christie, but for services run by Pennine Acute Trust, which runs the Royal Oldham Hospital.

Paid for entirely by charity money, the centre will only be used for NHS patients, and not privately.