New £100k cancer care hub coming to Stoke Mandeville Hospital due to charity funding

A new cancer hub will be opening at Stoke Mandeville Hospital after a £100,000 funding donation from a charity.

The Cancer Care and Haematology Fund (CCHF), confirmed it was funding a new building at the Bucks facility this morning (10 April).

Work is underway to get the new hub ready, the charity describes the new structure as a free-standing, modular ‘pod’, which will be situated by Trust’s existing Cancer Care and Haematology Unit (CCHU) at Stoke Mandeville.

CCHF says the purpose of the new unit is to provide a calm and comfortable space for patients, families and staff to have informal and relaxed meetings away from the bustle of the CCHU treatment area.

Also, the charity has confirmed although it is funding the scheme, the building will be owned by the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust .

Chair of CCHF, Dr Ann Watson, said: “We are so pleased that the charity can again come forward to fund this additional space for the Stoke Mandeville Unit. We work closely with the NHS Trust and the decision to provide the pod was driven by the medical teams who felt it could be tremendously helpful to patients, their families and supporters.

“To be able to fund such an exciting new building at this level is very gratifying for CCHF, and it represents a huge success for all of our supporters across Buckinghamshire and beyond who work so hard to raise money for those who continue to suffer from cancer and similar illnesses.”

Agile Property and Homes Limited is readying the new unit and has promised to create a sustainable new site.

CCHF was formed in 1990 to raise funds for the existing CCHU, which was opened in 2001, the charity also supported the costs of a extension to the Unit in 2007.

Michelle Pearsall from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, added: “We’re incredibly grateful to CCHF charity for its continued support of our unit. The team is very excited and can’t wait for the pod to be up and running in time for warmer weather. It will enable us to have what can often be emotional conversations in a lovely, non-clinical environment. It will be a fantastic facility, both for staff as well as for patients and their families.”