Spire Little Aston Hospital cares for 550 urgent breast cancer patients during the pandemic
30 November 2021
During the height of the pandemic, Spire Little Aston Hospital completed 550 urgent NHS breast cancer surgeries for the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) Foundation Trust. This was part of a ground breaking agreement aimed at helping the NHS cope with the pressures of the Covid-19 outbreak. The agreement was put in place mid-2020 and ended in March 2021.
The agreement saw a team of eight breast surgeons carry out life-saving surgeries on NHS patients in what has been described as a brilliant example of cooperation between private and public health services.
Today UHB Consultant Breast Surgeons, Miss Selina Bains and Mr Naren Basu visited staff at Spire Little Aston Hospital and presented the teams involved in the partnership with a plaque of thanks – something to commemorate the important work completed during the pandemic.
Surgeon Mr Vijay Ganesh, who is the UHB Breast Unit Clinical Governance Lead, said: “When the coronavirus broke out and it became obvious that the NHS would be put under massive pressure, I had sleepless nights worrying about how cancer patients would get the treatments they needed.
“This agreement opened the doors of Spire Little Aston to our NHS patients, and it has meant their treatment was able to carry on uninterrupted. It has been a brilliant example of cooperation that I am proud to have been a part of.”
Mr Naren Basu said: “the team here were unbelievable. They made the new surgeons welcome and took on the extra workloads and responsibilities without as much as a single hitch." He added, "the response from everyone at the hospital has been outstanding and feedback from the patients has been of the highest praise.”
Victoria Morris, Director of Clinical Services at Spire Little Aston, said: “We’re very proud to have played our part during the peaks of the pandemic, keeping key services going and treating hundreds of patients with critical breast conditions."
Pictured: Naren Basu, Consultant Breast Surgeon, Vicky Morris, Little Aston’s Director of Clinical Services and Selina Bains, Consultant Breast Surgeon along with Little Aston’s, Admin, Wards, Pre-op and Theatres Teams.