April 2010
Prostate cancer sufferer, Mr Robin Moors officially opened a new, state-of-the-art radiotherapy and cancer treatment centre at Spire Southampton Hospital on Friday 30th April 2010. The CancerPartnersUK centre has been built at the private hospital as part of a joint initiative with Spire Healthcare to provide world-class cancer treatments to patients across the South.
Mr Robin Moors opens new radiotherapy centre at Spire Southampton Hospital. Pictured from left to right: Jane Whitney-Smith, Professor Karol Sikora, Robin Moors, Cecily Moors, Gill Boote and Rupert Cockcroft.
Mr Moors, a retired architect, is one of the first patients to be treated at the new centre which will house the latest generation radiotherapy technologies. The radiotherapy centre means that Spire Southampton Hospital can now offer patients from across the South of England a fully-integrated range of cancer treatments on one site, from diagnosis, through surgery, chemotherapy and now radiotherapy.
Leading cancer specialist and Medical Director of CancerPartnersUK, Professor Karol Sikora, said “At least half of all cancer patients require radiotherapy as part of their treatment, and the new CancerPartnersUK centre at Spire Southampton is seen as crucially important on two levels.
“Firstly, it is offering the very latest generation radiotherapy treatment, Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) and Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT). These have been shown to optimise the effectiveness of radiotherapy, as well as minimising side effects to the patient by controlling dosage and limiting damage to healthy tissue. Although these machines are becoming more widespread around the UK, it is estimated that fewer than 10% of patients who would benefit from this type of radiotherapy are receiving it.
“Secondly, the centre has been designed to streamline care and provide local access to high quality radiotherapy services, resulting in an enhanced patient experience. Until recently, private radiotherapy centres only existed within London.”
Spire Southampton’s Matron Jane Whitney-Smith said at the event: “We are proud to already work with some of the UK’s leading cancer doctors and oncologists. With CancerPartnersUK on site and having recently invested £10million in facilities at the hospital including a dedicated chemotherapy unit, we believe we offer cancer sufferers in the south one of the most comprehensive private cancer treatment services outside London.”
Mr Robin Moors added: “As a very recent patient, I have had first hand experience of using the centre and I have to say it has been a great one. From the first cheerful greeting, to the support, understanding and consideration I received from the staff, it has made what could have been a dreadful experience a very good one. I am very honoured that Spire Southampton Hospital has asked me to officially open the CPUK unit.”