Clatterbridge Cancer Centre - Liverpool opens its doors

Health bosses say Clatterbridge Cancer Centre - Liverpool will transform care in a region that is one of the worst affected nationally by the disease.

The 11-storey hospital is part of a £162m investment and aims to deliver "highly-specialist care" including pioneering immunotherapy and the most advanced forms of radiotherapy to 2.4 million people in Cheshire, Merseyside and surrounding areas.

A spokesperson for Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust said the new hospital aims to deliver a wide range of highly-specialist cancer care including pioneering chemotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy and radiotherapy.

It features state-of-the-art facilities for bone marrow transplant, diagnostics and imaging, outpatients, daycase treatments, a teenage and young adult unit, clinical therapies and a wide range of cancer information and support.

Being on site with Royal Liverpool University Hospital and University of Liverpool, it will be the main hub in Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust's network of treatment centres, including its Wirral and Aintree sites, hospitals across Cheshire and Merseyside and community settings including patients' homes and workplaces.

Health bosses say the hospital will play a vital role in phase two of the NHS response to coronavirus.

The Trust will continue to provide specialist cancer care at its existing sites in Wirral, Aintree, acute hospitals across the region and in the community.

Dr Liz Bishop, chief executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, said: "It brings state-of-the-art facilities, novel treatments and research together to improve outcomes and save lives in Cheshire and Merseyside at a time when one in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime.

"We are tremendously excited about opening Clatterbridge Cancer Centre - Liverpool.

"It has been a huge labour of love and I would like to pay tribute to our staff, the Laing O'Rourke site team, our suppliers, subcontractors and all the partners who by working together have made this happen."

Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said: "The opening of this crucial facility will be of huge benefit to the people of the city region.

"This is especially good news in these current testing times when NHS resources have been so stretched dealing with coronavirus.

"It adds to our city region’s strengths in health and life sciences and is yet another world-leading asset for the growing Knowledge Quarter."

Paul McNerney, Director of UK Building at Laing O'Rourke, said: "The opening of Clatterbridge Cancer Centre - Liverpool will enable our remarkable NHS to provide cancer patients from Liverpool and across the North West with the best possible care for many years to come.

"It is a world-class facility and I am incredibly proud of the workforce, sub-contractors and partners who delivered the final stages of it in challenging circumstances.

"It adds to our proud track record of delivering vital healthcare infrastructure in Liverpool, where we have previously constructed the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Aintree and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, and also have a team delivering the new Royal."

Richard Mann, AECOM UK & Ireland healthcare and science sector leader, who was project director for design engineering, said: "The AECOM building engineering team is proud to have worked with the Trust from the initial design stage through to handover.

"The result of our work is a light and airy, energy-efficient and sustainable building, designed to put the wellbeing of patients and NHS staff first."