A specialist cancer trust has pledged for “many more” patients in North Liverpool and the surrounding areas to be seen by its community team at home thanks to a new chemotherapy treatment base which will reduce nurse travel time.
Previously, nurses at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust only operated out of the trust’s Wirral site, meaning staff would have to travel long distances to treat patients in North Liverpool.
But the trust has now opened a new chemotherapy hub at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Aintree, meaning nurses will be closer to patients in the area who are eligible to have this treatment in their own home.
The trust said this would therefore mean nurses can reach patients more quickly and in turn have time to see more patients in the area.
The Clatterbridge in the Community Team is currently treating more than 360 patients, and in January 2022 carried out around 500 appointments, including visits for taking blood or for supporting with catheter lines for chemotherapy.
In addition to the new base, the trust has also increased the number of nurses within the community team and invested in some hybrid, energy efficient vehicles for staff to use to get to appointments.
Claire Bennett, Clatterbridge in the Community service manager at the trust, said the new hub in Aintree “will be a massive boost to our service and our patients as it will allow us to treat many more people in North Liverpool and beyond”.