Spire Healthcare, the private hospital group, has taken a significant step towards the development of a major new cancer centre in Chelmsford, Essex. After the successful build, opening and popularity of its Specialist Care Centre in Bristol, Spire submitted a request on December 12 for planning permission next to Baddow Hospital at the Essex Healthcare Park in Chelmsford, with the view to build a similar facility to serve the city and wider Essex and adjoining counties areas.
Subject to a successful planning application, work is expected to be completed by autumn 2015. Initial architect drawings have been prepared and provide for a twostorey centre with a two-bunker radiotherapy facility. The facility will house two state-ofthe-art linear accelerators (LinAcs), a widebore CT scanner, consultant offices and consulting rooms and an eight bay chemotherapy suite.
Radiotherapy is a highly effective way of treating cancer yet remains undersupplied in the NHS with just 4.1 LinAcs per 100,000 of population – a figure some way below the rest of the major European countries. This development will bring a welcome increase to the country’s private provision of LinAcs – especially outside of London – currently only standing at 20 private machines nationwide.
The centre will utilise state-of-the-art planning and treatment techniques to provide patients with the most technically advanced treatment, partnered with high standards of patient care and support. It will treat a broad range of cancers, including breast, prostate and lung cancers, and will enable Spire to offer integrated end-to-end care for patients from diagnosis, right through to recovery.
Neil McCullough, Spire’s group development director, said: “Building and opening a new cancer facility on this scale is an exciting challenge and fits well with Spire’s aim to provide high quality cancer services to a wider market.”
