Manchester’s Christie Hospital, one of Europe’s leading cancer treatment hospitals, has announced plans for a £35 m patient treatment centre which will incorporate the world’s biggest early trials unit and an expanded “world-class” chemotherapy centre.
Professor Malcolm Ranson, head of the hospital’s clinical trials unit, said: “This unit will making us a global leader in cancer research.”
Construction will start at the hospital’s main site in Withington later this year, with completion expected by 2010. While the Christie already runs one of Europe’s largest clinical trials units, the centre will double the number of early trials carried out. Some 2,400 Christie patients annually will be amongst the world’s first to benefit from the latest treatments, while the centre will also incorporate a large biomarker research laboratory.
Professor Ranson added: “This unit is tremendously exciting and hugely significant both for cancer patients in the North West and for the Christie Hospital. It will bring substantial benefit to local people because they will be among the world’s first to access the latest and most innovative treatments for cancer as they become available, giving them the best possible chance of survival.”
The new chemotherapy unit, harnessing the latest technology, will allow the hospital to boost the number of annual treatments undertaken from 30,000 to 36,000. It will house around 760 beds, 60 specialist treatment chairs, 10 consulting suites, phlebotomy, a pharmacy, and two laboratories.
The latest announcement comes just weeks after the Christie confirmed plans to open two £17 m radiotherapy centres in Salford and Oldham, enabling staff to provide treatment closer to patients’ homes. The hospital already registers some 12,500 new patients every year and treats around 40,000.
