Opening a new satellite unit in Liverpool, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has worked to facilitate the provision of state-of-the-art cancer care closer to home for patients.
The new therapeutic apheresis services (TAS) unit will open at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and allow patients to receive all cancer treatments under one roof.
Patients will be able to receive extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) and stem cell procedure (PBSC) at the TAS unit, providing continuity of care and more treatment closer to home.
Clare Harrop, Lead TAS Nurse for Liverpool at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “All NHS patients deserve the best possible care. This new unit is an important step forward in the provision of world-leading cancer treatment for seriously ill patients in Liverpool and the surrounding areas.
“By combining local cancer services to include the two main blood treatments we hope patients can cut out unnecessary extra travel while also staying under the care of the same team from start-to-finish.
“We hope this will make things a little easier for patients, particularly for those who are going through the most difficult of times.”
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust’s new hospital in Liverpool opened in June this year with the aim of delivering specialist care to the 2.4 million people in Cheshire and Merseyside, a region highlighted as being at higher risk of developing cancer than elsewhere around the UK.
Liz Furmedge, General Manager of Haemato-Oncology at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, added: “Stem cell transplants are a really important part of the care we provide for people with blood cancers.
“We have always worked closely with NHSBT but it’s fantastic now having the apheresis unit on site and dedicated to cancer care. It makes a world of difference for patients.”
